《Eternal Mana》 01 - The System Nico fidgeted impatiently as his wooden slipper tapped onto the ashen grey pine dock. He crossed his legs in an attempt to relax, but his scrawny arm twitched and spazzed from holding onto the fishing pole for too long. The fishing pole took a few hours to make, but after several more hours of unproductive work, Nico was ready to call it for what it really was, a broom with a string attached. His eyes furrowed with annoyance. Since sunrise, only a few small piranhas had taken the bait. A growl rumbled and his stomach undulated violently from the lower pit of his belly, most likely the effect of eating nothing but weeds-- the healthy, legal, and free sorts- the last few days. The sun peeked up at the partly cloud-covered sun nearing its apex. ''Lunchtime, finally,'' Nico thought as he yanked back the branch and reeled in the fishing line. As he wrapped the line around the pole, the threads with uneven knots emerged from the lake. A nearby fisherman noticed that the thread was made from the same materials as the boy''s brown linen slack. Once all the thread was recovered and the hook secured, the boy yanked the strap across his shoulder. The strap carried a large straw-woven basket, carrying a dozen small fish. It felt heavy for a little boy and his back curved over slightly. The last remaining item on the dock was a smaller-sized picnic basket. He hauled it on top of the bigger basket, towering over his head. The two baskets easily dwarfed his small frame. With all of his belongings in place, the young boy trotted down the dirt path toward the town center. The group of fishermen walked back on the same path with similar intentions. The heavy movement of their steps indicated that their baskets were full of fish. Nico secretly envied their luck. One of the fishermen noticed the young skinny boy looking at them. The 10-years boy was not different from the other boys his age. His chubby baby cheeks contrasted with his sharp black eyes. The fisherman assumed the boy was an orphan judging from his ragged grey shirt meant for an adult twice his size. Feeling magnanimous for the day, the fisherman with two side whiskers removed one of his pickerels from his basket. "Hey kid, take this," the fisherman said as he handed over the fish to Nico. Nico didn''t need the fish, but he felt grateful nevertheless. "Thanks Rooster!" Nico bowed twice as customary. "Not a problem! Nico, was it?" Rooster laughed heartily. There was no reason to laugh other then it being his natural disposition. The man was known as Rooster to the other fisherman. Nico wondered why they didn''t call him Catfish because of his whiskers. He didn''t put much thought into it and continued toward the town center as though he was on a mission. Rooster watched curiously as the little boy hiked toward the market district of Rinlin. Rooster had been living in the village for ten years since he had retired and relocated to Rinlin. In the past few days, he had noticed the small boy fishing Stein Lake. At a glance, it was easy to tell that the boy was a complete novice. His fishing pole was a simple stick probably taken from a broom and fishing line made from unthreaded clothes. It was surprising that he caught anything at all. Most fishermen made a living using fishing nets, not fishing poles. The next morning, Rooster noticed the same boy heading to the lake, but this time, he brought along a crude hand-made fishing net. The boy was a lot more successful that morning than the previous days. By mid-morning, Rooster heard a loud exclamation from the little boy, who seems to have gotten a good haul from his cast. Congratulation, Catch 100 Fish. Task Completed. Nico examined the transparent text box that appeared on his peripheral and let out a sigh of relief. After scrapping for vegetables and catching fish for the past five days, the first task was finally completed. The set deadline for the task was 7 days, and he completed the task in 5 days. Select Reward: 1. Midnight Koi 2. Baitless Rod 3. Miracle Net 60 seconds until random selection. There were no descriptions of the reward and no time to contemplate the options. The 60-seconds timer counted down. There was no basis to select anything, so it didn''t matter if the time ran out. Whether Nico chose it himself or whether the system chose it, it would more or less be considered random. If anything, he could blame it on fate rather than himself. 50 secondsˇ­ If Nico had to guess, the Miracle Net may have a biblical connection. He was vaguely familiar with what a koi might represent, as koi were generally regarded as lucky. However, the meaning of the baitless rod eluded him. It sounded like something that could catch anything. 0 secondsˇ­ Receive Manaspirit, the Midnight Koi. Nico felt a jolt deep within his soul that manifested itself like a person being tasered down by the police. Not that he experienced it himself, but he has seen it in a television show. The jot forced him to his knees, but he quickly recovered. A special life form appeared inside of him, somehow inherently connected to him. A warm and bright sensation is emitted by the Midnight Koi. Other than the vague sensation, Nico had no idea what it was. He could dwell on it later after he gather more information, but he was more curious about the new icon showing up in his lower right peripheral. The icon was the only connection to the strange system. When he first saw the icon floating in space, he thought something was wrong with his vision. After touching the icon, a transparent task box appeared outlined by glowing lines. Tasks: Gather 25 Bushels of Vegetables. 20/25. Remaining Time: 18 hours. Reward: Choice Box. *new* Catch 500 Fish. 11/500. Remaining Time: 15 days. Reward: Roulette Coupon. *new* Plant and Harvest 5 Bushels of Vegetables. 0/5. Remaining Time: 30 days. Reward: Choice Box. "What is this?" Nico asked himself. It was already painful to gather vegetables during the early spring season of Rinlin. He didn''t expect the system to be so evil as to make him plant vegetables. When Nico awakened in this strange world, he had received two tasks, the catch 100 fish and gather 25 bushels of vegetables. With only seven days given, he allocated the morning to catch fish and the afternoon and evening to gather vegetables. He had gathered a few bushels of vegetables by pillaging the merchants and farmland the first two days. It wasn''t simple at all considering many of them have guard dogs. One almost bite him on the third day. The guard dogs weren''t simple creatures, but an enhanced form that resembled the wild wolves. Many villagers didn''t have guard dogs, but he wasn''t going to scoop so low as to steal from the villagers unless he was really desperate. The only option left was foraging. While foraging may seem easy, it was difficult to find vegetables within the safe zone. The safe zone was exactly how it sounded, a safe area within the village. Outside of the safe zone was the unprotected land and wilderness. There were dangerous beasts that roamed around. Nico had never been outside the safe zone, having been warned many times by the beggars on Poor Street. "You''re a crazy kid Mutey if you''re planning to head out there," said the beggar, Old Fatty. He wasn''t old, but he looked old, so everyone called him Old Fatty. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "It''s Nico!" Nico corrected. He attempted to change his former nickname to his real name. Mutey sounded rather offensive. "Blah, Nico. When did you get yourself a name?" "A week ago, but that is beside the point," Nico steered the focus back to the safe zone. "Why is it dangerous out there? I don''t see anything dangerous across the fence. Is a small wooden fence going to keep a village safe if there are really beasts out there?" "Ah, you''re becoming an idiot after learning to talk more! When the empire bestows a piece of land to be developed, they make sure that the land is blessed and protected from the beasts. That is why the beasts do not attack." Nico pressed for more information, but Old Fatty responded by calling him stupid. It was likely he didn''t know the answer himself. However, if there were beasts similar to the guard dogs, Nico wasn''t stupid enough to head out without a plan. Having finished the fishing task, Nico packed the big straw basket with fish. "You did well today Nico!" Rooster shouted out to him. "Thank you Rooster!" Nico shouted back. "Just make sure you don''t bring back more than 50 fish. That''s the daily limit before a fishing license is required." "There''s a fishing license?" "Yeah, a professional fisherman needs to apply for a license at the town hall." Nico thanked Rooster for the advice and headed back to the village. Before going into the market, Nico changed out from his smelly gray shirt and wore a clean blue shirt that fitted him well. In the market, the bulky man glanced quickly through the fish basket. "You have a good haul today," the fishmonger said. "10 coppers." "Come on Pauley, there are at least 4 dozen of fish in there," said Nico. "Two are good-sized walleye that are worth 4 coppers and there are bass and other good eats too. 30 coppers." "Yeah, but how likely am I to sell all of these in three days?" Pauley asked, rhetorically. "Most will turn into livestock feed or bait. It isn''t much of a profit if I buy these for more than 15 coppers." "But you can also dry the fish and sell them later," said Nico. "Yeah, but very few people buy dried fish. I''ll give you 20 coppers, that''s the most I can give." Nico reluctantly agreed. He sold a basket worth of fish to the fishmonger for 20 copper pieces, which resembled the shape of a coffee bean. If he set up a stall himself and sold them directly to customers, he could probably earn 40 copper pieces but he didn''t have the time to set up a stall. It was too time-consuming. "Hey, by the way, do you need permission to set up a stall on the street?" Nico asked. The fishmonger moved on to assist the next customer and left Nico hanging. The hearty woman selling lettuce at the next stall had a good laugh. "Haha, the streets belong to Kelseran Empire, so you don''t have to worry about permission," she responded. "Ah, I see. Is it different from the shops?" Nico pointed to the shop nearby. "The shops are different," said the woman. "Most shops are owned by the nobles or royalty. You need a lease from the town hall to open a shop." "How about farming land?" "The same." "So I can''t grow on any empty lot?" asked Nico. The woman laughed again. "No, most open fields have an owner, so you need to request a lease to start farming," she responded. "Are the fields in the wilderness owned by someone?" The woman thought for a moment. "Hmˇ­ technically it''s owned by the empire, so you don''t need a lease. It''s just that, no one in their right mind would farm in the wilderness." "Why is that? Why do some beasts stay away from the village? But I still see the guard dogs and horses around?" The boy sure has stupid questions sometimes, thought the woman, but she didn''t mind helping the boy out. He wasn''t much older than her grandchildren. Children his age asked such questions during their apprenticeship with their relatives or tradesman. She knew he was a vagrant from the alley, but he had not been begging for food lately. The boy was turning a new leaf and started to fish. It was a good direction for an orphan boy. "It has been like that forever," replied the woman. "Tamed beasts have masters and are therefore allowed in the village. Wild beasts are repelled from the village zone." Nico wanted to ask more questions, but the woman had another customer approaching from the street. "Thanks, Shirley, see you tomorrow!" Nico said, deciding it was best not to disturb her business. He waved at the woman and walked down the market. Nico located the seed vendor and asked for advice on the quickest vegetables to grow. The vendor suggested radish, which could be harvested in as little as 25 days. Nico bought one copper worth of seeds, which was enough to grow 10 sacks of radish. After asking the vendor for some basic advice on growing radish, he left the market. Nico approached a field near the outskirts of town. There were field grasses and wild plants clinging onto a wooden fence that indicated the boundary between the village safe zone and the wilderness. He approached a beech tree on the side of the fence and laid out his net around the tree. With the net in position, he climbed the tree and tied a piece of cloth around a branch. After yanking on the cloth, the young beech leaves rained down on the net below. Nico repeated the process until there appeared to be a bundle of leaves on the ground. Tasks: Gather 25 Bushels of Vegetables. 21/25. Remaining Time: 16 hours. Reward: Choice Box Plant and Harvest 5 Bushel of Vegetables. 0/5. Remaining Time: 30 days. Reward: Choice Box Catch 500 Fish. 11/500. Remaining Time: 15 days. Reward: Roulette Coupon. Nico jumped down and gathered the net. The progress count for gathering 25 bushels of vegetables increased by one. After a few days of carrying out the tasks for the system, he noticed some rules imposed by the system. It would be nice if he could talk to the system and have a menu or a system manual of some sort, but the system was simply there. He had already tried several voice commands like abracadabra, open sesame, and menu, but no response. The system didn''t give him any indication of when a bushel was completed. The only way to confirm was to check whether the progress count increased. Even worse, there was no defined measurement of a bushel. A cart load of vegetables he had stolen on the first day contained 6 sacks of miscellaneous vegetables, but only 5 bushels were counted by the system. 2 sacks of wild plants counted as 1 bushel, while a different set of 2 sacks of wild plants counted as 2 bushels the next day. He suspected that different plants counted differently. The most abundant plant available was the field grass. Unfortunately, the 3 sacks of grass amounted to nothing but a waste of time. The dandelion leaves fared better, and although half a sack counted as a bushel, picking dandelions was tedious and labor-intensive. He came up with the idea of collecting beech leaves while making his net. It was quicker and easier. He sighed with relief when the system accepted the beech tree leaves. After reaching the net capacity of 2 bushels, he emptied out the leaves on the side and continued collecting the leaves. The system rule for possession was simple. As long as a free item was on him, it counted in the system. However, a stolen item needed to be taken out of a particular range from its original property to be considered his possession. The open fields in the village had an owner and the system viewed it as theft even though he was just pulling weeds. Nico climbed back up another beech tree and continued collecting its baby leaves. By the afternoon, another text box appeared. Recipes for Disaster Congratulation, Gather 25 Bushels of Vegetables Task Complete. Select Reward: 1. Farmer''s Almanac 2. Pesticide 3. Small Seed 60 seconds until random selection. Nico stared blankly at the text box. The system had horrible naming sense, if it had such a thing. After thinking it over, the timer ran out. Receive Bracelet, the Pesticide. A copper bracelet appeared on Nico''s left wrist. There were no symbols or craving on the bracelet, just a simple nondescript band that resembled more like a copper wire than a bracelet. There were no descriptions of the bracelet. Tasks: Plant and Harvest 5 Bushels of Vegetables. 0/5. Remaining Time: 30 days. Reward: Choice Box. Catch 500 Fishes. 11/500. Remaining Time: 15 days. Reward: Roulette Coupon. *New* Gather 100 Bushels of Vegetables. 0/100. Remaining Time: 15 days. Reward: Roulette Coupon. Nico returned to Stein Lake and searched for a potential sleeping spot. The first few days, he slept in the open alleyway with only a blanket as coverage. The makeshift tent he had built the first day was quickly taken over by an old vagrant the following day. Even the food he had stolen were stolen from him by the other vagrants. He didn''t want to get jumped, so he let it be. Luckily, it only drizzled the night before. Since it didn''t matter where he stayed, Nico decided to find shelter near Stein Lake. A portion of the lake was located within the village zone and the fisherman regularly used the area for fishing. The founder had probably planned it that way when the village was built. The area west of the lake was flat and perfect for farming. Nico wasn''t particularly sure of the mechanics behind the safe zone, but the beasts have stayed away from the village. Only small birds and creatures could be seen roaming within the zone. In the southern field, Nico found a maple tree that stood between two sections of the wooden fences. There were no defined border so it was hard to tell whether the area was inside or outside the safe zone. He draped a blanket on a branch and anchored it down on the ground to form a tent. Nico placed a dead log nearby the tent, and piled dead branches and straws on top of the log. He tied a piece of leather string around an arched stick to form a small bow. Holding a stick and bow, he spun his fire contraption. The stick wasn''t smooth, so there was a lot of awkward movement. He had produced some smoke, but no visible ember. After exhausting all his energy, he took a moment to breathe. It looked easier on TV. He scanned his surroundings for a flat piece of rock. Once he saw a piece of rock he liked, he gripped the rock with his left hand and anchored it on the stick for stability. He furiously worked the contraption. Once he could see a bit of ember, he gently blow on the embers. The fire flared up. Without much time to celebrate, he quickly fed it more straw and branches. By nightfall, he had managed to grill two small piranhas and make beech leaves salad. Nico savored every bit of the fish. It was the first time he had any source of meat in his body. He wasn''t adventurous enough to try sushi. Nico carefully watched the movement in the wilderness. The scent of grilled fish attracted some predators. Nico could feel their amber eyes from the distant forest. In reality, the wilderness was nothing but pitch black to the naked eye. It was likely his imagination, but he felt danger. It was an eerie sensation he had not felt before, and he wondered whether it was the Midnight Koi or Pesticide that was triggering the feeling. Nico removed the bracelet and the sense of danger disappeared. Nico stared at the bracelet in frustration. He wouldn''t be able to sleep with the bracelet on. The images of the beasts'' eyes kept appearing in his head. However, if he didn''t wear the bracelet, the feeling of unknown danger was going to drive him insane. Nico decided to keep the bracelet on and focused on planting the radishes. The field was off from the road, and partially hidden from view. It was within distance of the lake, making it a good location to plant radishes. He couldn''t plow the field since it might have an owner, but he could plant it sporadically to blend it in with the field. He walked closer to the village side, and the sense of danger suddenly disappeared. Nico paused and thought for a moment. He paced away from the village, and the sense of danger reappeared. He concluded that the safe zone did have some mythical properties. Old Fatty had been right about the land being blessed in some ways. The fire pit was located outside of the safe zone, but luckily the tent was in the safe zone. He decided to sow the seeds in both the safe zone and the unprotected land area. After planting in a couple of spots, he had half a bag of seeds remaining. Nico fell asleep when fatigue overtook him. Before sunrise, Nico gathered his belongings and packed everything back in the small basket. Nico repeated his routine of fishing in the morning and gathering leaves in the afternoon. In the late afternoon, he found another field in the north and started to plant the remaining seeds. He bought two water buckets for 5 copper pieces and watered both fields. It took several trips to water the fields. On the day when it rained, it was both a blessing and a curse. He didn''t have to water the radishes, but there were many other problems. When it rained, the fish became more aggressive. Netting the fish seemed easy, but if the fish were too aggressive, they could damage the net. Every time that happened, Nico had to re-tie everything. He thought about buying an actual net if it happens again. He earned around 15 copper pieces a day, but he would rather keep the money for other necessities. Another problem was the market. There were fewer stall vendors during rainy days. Shops were still open, but there were barely any customers. With fewer people shopping, the fishmongers were less willing to buy. Although he wasn''t able to sell the fish, he maintained his routine until the task was completed. Congratulation, Catch 500 Fishes Task Complete. Receive Roulette Coupon. He excitedly clicked on the Roulette Coupon, he felt giddy like a kid again. A strange wheel appeared in front of him. There were strange lines and symbols that covered the wheel in a language that wasn''t from Earth or Kelseran. Upon waking up in a body of a young boy, Nico could understand the Kelseran language that were commonly spoken in the village of Rinlin. Although he could understand Kelseran and recognize the written language, he didn''t know how to read it. However, he could read and understand the strange symbols. The text in the system was written entirely in these symbols. The wheel was curved with symbols that roughly translated into Eternal Life Wheel. Nico watched the wheel spin, first slowly, then quickly, in reverse, and then forward. There were no particular reasoning or pattern behind the movement. After examining the wheel, he lightly touched it. The wheel stopped and an arrow landed on a symbol. It glowed and the wheel disappeared. Receive First-Aid Ointment Recipe. A new icon appeared on the lower right. Recipes: First-Aid Ointment Nico clicked on the first-aid ointment recipe and an elaborate box appeared. The recipe box displayed 5 ingredients, each with its corresponding images. Honey, ginger, sage, lavender and pennywort. Underneath, there were detailed directions on how to make the ointment. Nico could experiment with the ointment later, but he had to complete the gathering task first as there wasn''t much time left. He had destroyed a lot of beech trees, but he finally completed the task. Congratulation, Gather 100 Bushels of Vegetables Task Complete. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Receive Roulette Coupon. The roulette landed on a different symbol. Receive Spirit Enhancement. As soon as the announcement appeared, he felt a bit stronger. The Midnight Koi danced around inside of him and his sense of the surrounding had also increased. Tasks: Plant and Harvest 5 Bushels of Vegetables. 0/5. Remaining Time: 16 days. Since he only had one task left, he focused on creating the ointment. Although there were only five ingredients, it was not a simple recipe. There were heat, age, quantity, and many specific requirement that he wasn''t able to meet without better equipment. He could only make it according to instinct. Congratulation, First-Aid Ointment Grade F created. Well, that wasn''t too bad. It was his first attempt. He had minor scratches from climbing trees, and dabbed a little ointment on himself. It had a pleasant smell, but it didn''t trigger any tingling sensation. He jarred up the remaining amount, but he wasn''t sure if he could carry it with him. He decided to gift the First-Aid Ointment jar to Shirley. Out of everyone in the village, Shirley was the one who had been constantly giving advice when needed. There were no library and books were expensive. The only way to gather information was by talking to the villagers. Shirley was touched by the gift. He told her the ingredients, so she wasn''t too concerned about using it on herself. They were basic home remedies that could be found everywhere. As someone who worked the farm, she had many calluses on her hands. The ointment was soothing and emitted a nice scent. After a few days, the calluses were disappearing. "Nico! I can''t believe you have made such an effective ointment, you have to make some for me!" Kanna, a middle aged clerk from the Pinaton Shop, approached him. It was not the first time someone had approached him about the ointment. Shirley was one of the biggest gossipers in the village and it was easy to relay information just through her. After seeing the effect for himself, Nico realized that selling ointment jars was a good source of income. "All right Mrs. Kanna, it''s not a problem, but can you teach me how to read?" asked Nico. From what she had heard, Nico was selling the ointment for 50 copper pieces for a 1 oz jar. She had also wanted to exchange him with something rather than money. If it was only teaching, she was more than willing to assist. "Sure, come over to the Pinaton shop before noon," she agreed. The Pinaton Clan owned the shop, which carried many medicinal herbs. They were one of the main families that owned the vast majority of land in Rinlin. The current head of the family was Baron Quilo. Nico spent most of his time fishing and making ointments while waiting for the radish to mature. The radishes had been growing steadily and only a few were lost due to rodents and rabbits. There were slightly more radishes on the safe zone side, but he had no definitive proof since he didn''t have a way to count the amount of radishes he had planted. The ointment was a big seller and extremely popular with women, so it was surprising to see a hunter requesting the ointment. Most hunters had a higher standard of living than farmers and vendors. However, it was a dangerous occupation. "My wife was telling me about," explained Lorne, the hunter and Kanna''s husband. Nico nodded. "I wasn''t interested at first, but when she was redressing my wound, she spattered a good amount on my injury. It was actually quite nice and didn''t sting like the other ointment. Healing time is good so I thought it would be nice to have while hunting." "I have been getting a lot of orders, but I can prepare another jar," Nico responded. "Instead of money, can I come along on one of the hunts?" Lorne hesitated for a moment. "A hunting party is quite dangerous and we can''t guarantee your safety, are you okay with that?" asked Lorne. "You hunt wild boar, how dangerous can it be?" "We have a good team, so it''s usually not that dangerous," said Lorne. "However, since it''s in the wilderness, there will be worse creatures than the wild boar. We usually only hunt once a week because of all the preparation needed." "How many do you bring along?" asked Nico. "Just four," said Lorne. "Can I also get a weapon?" "I have a broken spear that might work," said Lorne. "You don''t need a full length spear with your height anyway." The next hunt was in three days. Nico prepared more ointment to sell and four jars as gifts for the four hunters. Early in the morning of the hunt, Nico arrived at the southern gate of Rinlin. He saw Lorne with a group of people on the back of a wooden horse carriage. Nico hopped onto the cart and greeted everyone. Although they appeared harsh and disagreeable at first, they didn''t give Nico any difficulty. If anything, they had already chided Lorne for bringing a kid along. Nico didn''t know that Lorne had promised the others to carry him off if there was danger. "Nico, this is Cobalt, he''s going to be leading the hunt as the trapper," said Lorne, who was carrying a spear. Cobalt signaled the carriage rider to head south. Nico stared at the tall bearded man in his late 40s. He seemed to be the most experienced out of everyone. He also had the biggest leather bag Nico had ever seen. Nico was a bit jealous since he was still carrying the straw basket on his back. "Mayan is a hunter and Logan is a scout," said Lorne. Mayan was carrying a spear while Logan was carrying a bow and quiver on his back. "What does a scout do?" asked Nico curiously. "A scout keeps a lookout for danger," replied Logan. "Trappers and scouts have similar skill sets, but they focus on different things," Lorne further explained. "Trappers search and set traps for the prey. Although it is frowned upon, some hunters leave traps out over night hoping to catch something. It''s rare, but there are hidden traps left over by irresponsible hunters. The scout role is to look out for manabeasts and wolves." "Manabeasts?" It was the first time he heard of the term. "They are evolved creatures with a manacore," said Cobalt. "They are stronger than regular animals and extremely deadly." "What is a manacore?" "Crystallized mana, usually located near the center of the creatures," said Cobalt. "Do we have manacore?" asked Nico. Mayan, the spearman, laughed. "What a funny kid," he said. "People have spiritual roots, not manacore. It''s the foundation for all cultivation and magic." Cultivation and magic? Nico haven''t seen anything like that in the village. "It''s not unusual for you not to know," said Cobalt. "Most people are unable to cultivate." "Are you able to?" asked Nico. "I''m only at the 7th stage of Gathering. Only those in the 1st stage of Condensation are considered cultivators. I might not be able to become one in this lifetime." "7th stage is already considered a lieutenant in the army," explained Lorne. "I''m only 4th stage, and could become a sergeant if I wanted to." "How do you measure these stages?" asked Nico. "By the Halostone in the Shrine of Darbi," replied Lorne. "Most people who test it out for fun will only waste their silver. The majority who haven''t started to cultivate will most likely start at the 1st level." "How do you gain level?" inquired Nico. "There are many ways, like learning from the academies or using cultivation techniques, but they are all difficult," said Lorne. "The Kelseran Empire distribute the Kelseran Cultivation Method. That''s how I was able to learn, but it''s difficult for me to describe how it works." Nico had more questions, but it wasn''t long before they reached their destination, as the foot of the Rinlin forest wasn''t too far from the village. The rider steadily pulled the reign and halted the horse upon arrival. The hunters unloaded everything they needed from the cart. Lorne instructed Nico to leave his belongings in the carriage. If they came across a manabeast, it was difficult to outrun it with so many baggage. Lorne briefed Nico on some of their protocols and gave him the 4-foot long spear. Into the Wilderness The hunters paced carefully, but swiftly, through the forest, with their feet lightly scrunching the moist and leafy ground. They were familiar with the beginning area. As they proceeded farther into an unknown route, Logan tied red cloth onto the branches. Everyone remained silent as they moved deeper into the forest. The thin layer of flora gradually increased, with pines, beech and oaks densely spaced together. The grounds were undisturbed by humans, but traces of feces and half eaten pinenuts scattered throughout. With the bracelet, Nico could sense the beasts observing the hunters from all directions. Other than danger, he felt something strange happening. Whenever they were moving closer to the source of danger, it would never appear closer. Odd, he pondered. Cobalt stopped, and everyone followed his hand movement. Cobalt formed a triangle between his forefingers and thumbs, a signal to prepare the hunt. Everyone nodded to confirm that the message was received. Logan lowered to the ground and watched the movement of the forest. Nico followed Logan as he was instructed to before they entered the forest.Cobalt unpacked the jute net and ropes. He unwound the rope and looped it around the tree branch as Lorne and Mayan spread out the net. Once the net was laid out and the rope was anchored to the trees, the three hunters began piling the leaves over the net. Cobalt placed a fish in the middle of the net and everyone hid. They waited. Hunting was a game of chance and a test of patience, and they didn''t always attract wild boar. Some time after noon, a wild boar appeared in the area. The hunters waited in anticipation for it to approach the bait. Nico couldn''t sense any danger coming from the average sized wild boar. As the wild boar approached the bait, Cobalt jumped down from the tree and yanked on the rope, levering the trap. The net snatched and entrapped the boar. Lorne and Mayan sprang out from their location and stabbed the soon to be pork. Once it was dead, Lorne and Mayan hooked the net onto their spears and all four hunters hauled it back. Their movements were quick and efficient. Once they vacated the forest, they loaded the carcass onto the cart and returned back to the village. "Great job everyone,'' said Cobalt. Cobalt handed out 15 silver pieces to everyone. For a one day excursion, that was a lot of money. "Everyone still in for next week?" asked Cobalt. Everyone was in, except for Nico. "It''s better that way," said Logan. "It''s not normally this successful. We usually encounter some sort of danger or nothing at all, and situation like today is actually rare." Nico wanted to stay with them longer and ask them about cultivation, but they were ready to retire home. He waved them goodbye and then glanced at the bracelet deeply in thought. He headed to the northeastern section of the village. The area was near the lake and Linden Peak, which was the southernmost peak of the Kimson Mountain Range. Standing at the boundary of the safe zone, he could see where the mouth of the river curved behind the cliff. With a spear in hand, he braved the unprotected area and traveled along the lake circumference. Behind the cliff was an open field next to an 8-m wide river. On the other side of the river was a thick layer of forest biome. Nico sat by the cliff area, which provided a bit of protection from the wind, but wasn''t too tall as to block the sun from coming in. Nico didn''t sense any immediate danger, but the sun was still up. Nico set a fish trap and then a fire pit. As he was eating, he could sense the eyes of predators approaching his location. The beasts from across the river didn''t worry him, but the beasts from Linden Peak that had unrestricted access to the field from the north worried him. Nico gripped the spear with his right hand and a handmade torch on his left as he sensed something approaching. From the dim light of twilight, Nico could see a silver grey wolf with glowing amber eyes staring intently at the grilled fish. It approached slowly, but something prevented it from coming closer. It was still 10 meters away. Nico slowly approached the wolf. The wolf also slowly backed away. Nico stepped back to the fire pit, and the wolf followed. Nico slipped out his bracelet and watched the wolf . No movement. Nico left the bracelet by the log and slowly approached the wolf. The wolf was rooted to a spot still 10 meters away from the bracelet. "Aha!" he screamed at the wolf. "You''re afraid of the bracelet!" The wolf gave him no reply. Nico took the remaining two fishes he had, and threw them at the wolf. The wolf sprang up to snatch the two fishes in one snap and ran off to the distance. Standing in place, Nico watched the grey wolf disappeared into the Lindan Peak. Even without the bracelet, he could still feel the presence of the manabeasts. It was not as strong as when he had the bracelet. Could be attributed to the Spirit Enhancement? He pondered. The next morning, Nico walked into a brick building near the center of town. The sign indicated that it was the town hall. The clerk in the lobby eyed the boy, who was dressed in a nice blue shirt. The clerk remembered the boy who came in with Shirley, Kanna and Rooster to register his name with the empire, but couldn''t remember what his name was.The boy didn''t have any paperwork and was an orphan boy. Although the empire didn''t require registration, all government forms required some type of identification. Since the boy didn''t have any birth record, he needed three witnesses to prove his identity. Aha, Isiah thought to himself. The boy was Nico, apparently he was 12-years old. It was common for people to not know their true age, and most people in the village didn''t care. There weren''t many laws that were dictated by age except for the drafting requirement. "Mr. Isiah, I would like to lease a piece of land from the Kelseran Empire, is that possible?" requested Nico. The clerk named Isiah wanted to laugh, but remained professional. "If you''re leasing land, you should go see Mister Kenley from the Mayor''s office," said Isiah. "He''s down the hall to the left. However, no one have ever requested a lease directly from the empire before." "Why is that?" asked Nico. "The streets can''t be leased, it''s for everyone," said Isiah. "What about the land outside the village boundary? I thought it belonged to the Empire." "It is, but you don''t mean to request a lease for the wilderness?" Nico nodded. Isiah didn''t know how to respond. Nico went down the hall to Mister Kenley''s office. The large office was lined with large cabinets for scrolls and documents. There were two filing clerks and Mister Kenley, who was an elderly man with long fuzzy grayed hair sitting behind a large desk. "Hello child, what can I do for you today?" Mister Kenley asked. Stolen novel; please report. "I would like to lease a piece of land in the wilderness," Nico repeated his request. "Why would you want to lease a piece of land that''s considered public?" Mister Kenley was bewildered by the odd request. "It makes no sense. You can do whatever you want on it." "Yes, but if I want to farm the location, I have to worry about thieves and trespassers? I have no way to protect my crops if I were to keep it there." Mister Kenley thought for a moment. "No thieves are going to the wilderness to steal crops, that''s absurd," remarked Mister Kenley. "And why would you want to farm in the wilderness in the first place?" "Because I have no money to lease a farm inside the village?" "And you have money to lease from the wilderness?" "It must be cheaper," Nico stated flatly. Mister Kenley didn''t disagree. Typically, the purpose of a lease was to define the property and who have rights to use the land. The lease was an agreement between the landowner and a tenant. It was rare for the Empire to lease a land directly to an individual. Usually, the Empire would only bestow or sell the land to a titled individual. "I guess I could put in a request to the mayor," Mister Kenley declared. "It''ll take a little more than a week." Mister Kenley looked back at Nico. "How much land are you leasing?" "As much land as possible from the village boundary to Lindan Peak, and can it be a 100-years lease?" asked Nico. "Well, I don''t know how possible that is," replied Mister Kenley. "But it wouldn''t hurt to try." He pulled up a leather map of the village. In the center was the Shrine of Darbi, with the market, clock tower, and government buildings forming a semi-circular plaza. Radial streets and alleyways defined the village layout that stretched into the surrounding residential districts. Further out from the center were around five thousand acres of farmland. There was a main road, defined by stone pavers, that cut through the center from the west to the southeast. The western road led to a village of Caperon and the southeastern road looped around Stein Lake to a village named Ishuto. Most of the wilderness were poorly defined. "Where is the land you want and how much money are you willing to pay?" "I have 40 silver pieces." Nico pointed to an area around the mouth of the river. "You can probably get 5 acres here, but if a public road is built, it''s going to cut the property," said Mister Kenley pointing to the map. He drafted up a lease. "Nico of Rinlin, on 8th day of Pahol, 278th year of Kelseran Empireˇ­." Mister Kenley gave it to Nico to sign. "All right, come back in 10 days," said Mister Kenley. "If the Mayor Rauli agrees to the proposal, I''ll send you a copy." "What if he doesn''t?" "I don''t know." Mister Kenley shrugged. "The Empire usually encourages people to cultivate as much unexplored land as possible. People don''t go into the wilderness because it''s dangerous, so I don''t see a reason for them not to lease the land. It''s not like there are any purpose to have it unused and not take the lease money." Mayor Rauli never read the lease and always approve it anyway, thought Mister Kenley. Nico agreed with his reasoning and went on to his next destination. With his potential home settled, he had a lot he needed to do, like make a house. "What! You wanna build a house!?" asked Rooster excitedly. Rooster was the type that speaks as though the other person was deaf. He was always loud. "That sounds fun. I know a retired architect that can help!" Rooster dragged Nico into the upper-class residential district. "Chamber! Come on out! You have guests!" Rooster yelled out as they approached a little gated manor. "Quiet down you old man!" Cried an excited voice heading out to greet them. "Hohoho! Thought you would never visit!" A short fat man with grey beard strutted out of the manor quickly, greeted Rooster with three quick bows and led them inside the small manor. The majority of the houses in the residential area were rough houses made from either timber or stone. Chamber''s manor was built with adobe blocks and elaborately decorated facade. From the inside, it was a classy pairing of tile flooring and wood paneling. Chamber introduced his wife, a tall elderly woman named Sasha, who quietly greeted the guests. "So is this your grandson?" inquired Chamber. Rooster laughed. "Haha, Nico, greet grandpa Chamber and grandma Sasha," Rooster introduced. Nico gave them a respectful bow. Sasha gave an automatic bow back, and silently shuffled out of the room to prepare tea. "What brings you here to my humble home today?" asked Chamber. "This little boy wants to make a house! Can you believe that!?" asked Rooster. "He was considering building one himself without an architect! What a crazy kid." "Well it certainly is doable without an architect," responded Chamber. Chamber looked at Nico. "Most architects work under the direction of the nobility or royalty, so we don''t normally design simple houses. Regular folks seek advice from a mason or a carpenter." "Yeah, but look at this kid!" cried Rooster. "He can barely lift a stone or make lumber, how is he going to build a house? He''s going to need all the help he can get." "I really only need a make a simple farmhouse." Nico didn''t need a villa. "It would be helpful to know what materials would be best to use and how to make some connections." "Hm.. You sound like a smart child," observed Chamber. "Do you know how to read?" Nico shrugged, and gave an unassured nod. Nico didn''t know before, and he was currently learning from Kanna. He could read some basic words, but he wasn''t sure if he could handle reading an entire book. When Sasha returned with the tea, Chamber asked her to bring a couple of items back. Sasha returned with a book, a feather plume and thin linen papers. "This is actually a book I have written," said Chamber proudly. "There are currently only 18 books in circulation and you''re holding the original." Nico flipped through a 150-page book with pictures of connection details, plans and elevations. Although he couldn''t read everything, the images were more than enough to help out with his building. "I can''t give you the book, but you can make your own copy. If you''re free, you can come to my house and have a nice chat with me and Sasha while copying the book." "Where can I buy more linen paper?" asked Nico. "The villagers don''t normally make linen paper, but once in awhile, there are traveling merchants in the Darbi Plaza that will sell paper," responded Sasha. From their lively discussion, Nico learned that Rooster was once a Major in the army who had trained many soldiers. "This guy was so loud and always barking everyone around," Chamber explained. "All the cadets called him Rooster because he was the first thing they heard in the morning." "Who ya calling a thing!" He kept the habit of yelling even after retirement. Status Nico waited until the 29th day to harvest the radish. Since the radish wasn''t properly sowed, he was concerned that if it wasn''t mature enough for the system. Nico pulled the ones with darker green leaves first. After pulling 85% of the radishes he had initially grown, the system congratulated him. Congratulation, Plant and Harvest 5 Bushels of Vegetables Task Complete. Select Reward: 1. Lifeless Water 2. The Mineral 3. The Sun 60 seconds until random selection. Judging from the reward names, they seemed more useful this time around, but it also made it difficult to decide. He was leaning toward the third option due to the importance of it. However, Lifeless Water seems more useful to him now. Although there was a lake by the village, water and irrigation were still lacking in the area. Drought was always a constant threat to farmers. If this was a true farming system, the sun and earth would be available everywhere, but water was scarce. Nico selected the first option. Receive Lifeless Water. A clear 1 oz bottle with a dropper appeared in front of him. It looked nothing out of the ordinary and there was nothing in the bottle. Like the bracelet, there was no description of the item. Congratulations, Tutorial Tasks Completed. A new icon appeared on the lower screen. It was a simple Status box. Status: Manaroot: None Mananode: None Manaspirit: Midnight Koi 5 Strength: 16 FP: 3/3 Defense: 11 Speed: 12 Magic: 5 MP: 10/10 Resistance: 13 Casting: 7 Nico had no frame of reference for any of these numbers. There were also three new tasks that appeared on his task box. Tasks: *new* Catch 5 Manafish. 0/5. Reward: Roulette Coupon. *new* Plant and harvest 5 Bushels of Manaherb. 0/5. Reward: Roulette Coupon. *new* Tame 1 Manabeast. 0/1. Reward: System Reward. There was no time limit, so he didn''t have to rush to finish any of the tasks. His main concern at the moment was building a house and creating a place to store materials. The following week, Nico headed back to see Mister Kenley. "Congratulation Nico, here is the lease from the empire," said Mister Kenley. Nico skimmed through the lease with a seal stamped by the Kelseran Empire. After completing the remaining paperwork, he thanked Mister Kenley and ran back home to finish his house. While waiting for the lease, Nico had been making adobe blocks according to Chamber''s book. The foundation and layout of the house was set. The back side of the house was against the cliff to allow for natural insulation. The front of the house naturally faced the river. Once the exterior walls and two dividing walls were built, he added two chimneys on the south and north wall. He capped off the building with lumber and slate roofing materials. After weeks of labor, Nico finally had a roof over his head and a place to sleep. The building looked unfinished, but it was stable and roomy on the inside. The main living space had a large fireplace and it was where he intended to sleep. The middle room was the storage room and the third room was the kitchen, which had its own fire hearth and doorway to the outside. The farm area was plowed in an orderly fashion. There were various plants and sign posts on each row, mainly ginger, sage, lavender, pennywort, chamomile, and garlic. There were also many different plants he had uprooted from Lindan Peak and replanted in his field. Kanna had let him copy a basic herbal book from the Pinaton family, so he was familiar with most of the basic herbs around the region. By process of elimination, he collected plants that had high potential to be manaherb. He wasn''t a hundred percent sure, but it was worth a try. With the bracelet in hand, he wasn''t afraid to enter the Lindan Peak and explore the area, but he could never explore deeper into the peak before he had to return home. Without the bracelet to protect the farm, there were chances of manabeasts destroying the farm. It took Nico awhile to figure out how to use the lifeless water. At sunrise, a clear liquid filled the little vial, only to disappear 10 minutes later. Nico fed a drop of lifeless water on the regular herbs. Although it wasn''t immediate at first, it had sped up the maturation time. Using the lifeless water and a scale to measure, the ointment improved to grade D. Nico supplied the jars regularly to the traveling merchants for 2 silvers. Nico caught a simple rabbit and tested the lifeless water on it. It knocked the rabbit out for a day, but there didn''t seem to be any side effects, so far. Nico dripped the lifeless water on the 6 species of manaherbs he had gathered from Lindan Peak. Although the lifeless water could speed the rate of maturity, it was difficult to tell when it matures. There were no books written about the manaherbs, and Nico could only rely on common sense. There were four flowering species, and Nico would harvest the herbs as soon as it was in full bloom. He kept a few for seeds. The two other species were non-flowering type, and Nico harvested them when they were dark green. He continued the experiment until the task was completed. Using the roulette, he acquired the Accessory Enhancement Inscription recipe. As soon as he opened the recipe, he realized that the inscription wasn''t simple. The recipe had pages and pages of texts and images. As he scrolled down the text box, there doesn''t seem to be an end. There were many concepts he did not understand. Nico visited the Pinaton''s shop where Kanna was currently assisting a customer. There were four younger clerks in the shop. One named Juo Pinaton was around 15-16 years old and sitting down in another corner. The other young clerks were busy cleaning or assisting customers. Nico sat down in his usual corner location and continued copying a book called Amburgh''s Herbal Guide, written by a famed apothecarist Amburgh from Launtel City. All the clerks were familiar with Nico, so they didn''t disturb him. Nico transcribed the book, and he was almost done. He didn''t need to copy the book, but it helped him to read and memorize the content. His copying skill was also improving. He wasn''t an artist, but he could replicate the drawing of the herbs and plants. Compared to the beginning pages, the last few pages closely resembled the original. "Little Nico sure is hard-working," praised Kanna. "You can learn a thing of two from the boy." Kanna was in charge of the training Juo, who was known as the laziest of the Pinaton children. "Blah, what''s the point?" asked Juo. "I could hire people to manage the shop, why would I need to learn about any of these herbs?" "You''re talking as though you will inherit the shop," said Kanna. "Just remember, you have 4 other siblings and many cousins that are more than capable to taking over this shop." "Grandpa has plenty of shops, it''s not likely for him to leave me with nothing," responded Juo. "Besides, I would rather focus on cultivating." "If you''re as capable as your sister, you wouldn''t be stuck here with me," said Kanna. "Not only does she know basic apothecary, she''s accepted into the Windel Academy. And you can''t even tell a mint from a lavender." "Don''t compare me with that freak!" Juo noticed Nico closing the book. "Hey Nico, if you have a choice between being the strongest cultivator versus the smartest scholar, what would you choose?" "Why are you asking me?" Nico deflected. "I don''t even know what a cultivator does." "Simple, a cultivator is someone who fights manabeasts." "Isn''t that dangerous? Why would you want to do that?" "Pah, unbelievable!" cried Juo dramatically. "Manabeasts have manacores! Manacores enhance the spiritual roots." "So it helps a person get stronger?" "Of course!" "You''re likely to get eaten before than happens," interjected Kanna. Another customer walked in, and Kanna forced Juo to assist. Nico just happened to know the customer. It was Sasha coming in to request refill prescriptions for her husband. Chamber suffered from fatigue and constant back pain. The medicine prescribed to her from the apothecary was a form of pain killer. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Juo scanned through the prescription and grabbed all the required herbs. Although Kanna scolded him constantly for his lack of herbal knowledge, he was actually quite capable of finding the herbs. It also helped that the cabinets were labeled. Juo measured the recommended amount and wrapped everything neatly in a bag. Afterward, Juo returned to his corner. Kanna decided to leave Juo alone for the day since he did well with Sasha''s prescription. "Hey Juo, do you know what a manalink is?" asked Nico. "A manalink? Never heard of it," he responded. Nico had asked everyone from Rooster to Lorne about the manalink, but no one knew what it was. It was one of the terms used in the Accessory Enhancement Inscription recipe, but he wasn''t sure of the correct Kerlseran translation. The recipe provided no explanation of how the manalink worked. In the afternoon, Nico returned to his farm and created more jars of ointment. Congratulation, First-Aid Ointment Grade C Created. Unlock Healing Balm variation. Nico was surprised a recipe could have variation. Unfortunately, the healing balm required several herbs he had never seen before. The Blue Gerabells resembled one of the manaherbs he had collected, but the other two manaherbs were different. Once the usual chores were completed, Nico spent the afternoon fishing. Although netting and fish traps were easier, he wasn''t able to catch any manafish. Rooster gave him an old fishing pole, so he spent his leisurely hours fishing and reading the inscription recipe. After running out of bait, Nico thought about using the manaherb. If he wanted to catch manafish, shouldn''t he bait it with mana? He waited for a long time, but something caught onto the bait. It it yanked the pole away. Nico launched forward to catch the pole before it was completely taken away from him. This fish wasn''t easy! After building his house, Nico grew stronger and toned. He yanked back, hoping that the fishing line wouldn''t snap. When he had a good grasp of its strength, he guided the fish back closer to shore. With a net in his other hand, he scooped up the fish. Nico carefully examined the manafish still moving around in the net. The carp wasn''t bigger than a catfish, but its scales were shinier and healthier. Nico was considering eating it for dinner. However, he noticed the usual beggar appearing from the north. Ollie was the wolf that regularly visited the farm to collect a free meal. There were other manabeasts, but they were afraid of Ollie, and avoided the farm entirely. Thinking about the task, Nico decided to give the fish to Ollie. Ollie clamped the fish and stormed away. "Darn, I thought I would be able to tame it after feeding it for so long," thought Nico. Nico caught another manafish the following afternoon. This time, he was going to keep the manafish himself. He gutted the interior of the fish, and found a small pea sized jewel that people called the manacore. From what he had learned, most manabeasts flesh required special preparation to ingest, but manacore could be ingested directly. Nico examined the manacore briefly and then swallowed it. Status: Manaroot: None Mananode: None Manaspirit: Midnight Koi 5>6 Strength: 16 FP: 3/3 Defense: 11 Speed: 12 Magic: 5>6 MP: 10/12 Resistance: 13 Casting: 7 He felt the Midnight Koi slowly ingesting the manacore. The manaspirit and magic stat went up to 6. His MP also went up. The next day, Nico caught two manafish. He kept them for an experiment. He wanted to see what would happen if he added Lifeless Water to the manacore. To his amazement, the mana core actually expanded a bit. He was hesitant to eat it, but since he had been eating some of the manaherbs and were fine, he was sure eating the lifeless water infused manacore should be fine as well. After two days of fishing, Nico completed the manafish task. From the roulette, he received the Flame Talisman recipe. The talisman recipe was complex, but it was simpler than the inscription recipe. Tasks: *new* Catch 25 Manafish. 0/25. Reward: Roulette Coupon. Plant and harvest 25 Bushels of Manaherb. 4/25. Reward: Roulette Coupon. Tame 1 Manabeast. 0/1. Reward: System Reward. Talisman required special ink and manabeasts'' innards were one of the ingredients. Nico used the manafish''s innards as a substitute. Nico tried to copy down the pattern of the talisman on paper, but no matter how closely it matched the pattern, he was never successful. "Connect to the Flame Persona using the manalink. With the manalink, embed 3 Ro, 2 Pa, 1 Zu and 1 Li within its Shadow. After the characters are embedded within the Persona, seal it with the Min character." Nico continued to think about the step, but he didn''t know how to form a manalink with the "Persona" and "Shadow." He didn''t know what they were. Nico leaned on his desk in deep thought. The Midnight Koi swam happily inside of him. After ingesting more mana core, Nico could see the Midnight Koi clearer than before. It was hard to describe where it was in his body, but he felt that it was hidden inside his soul. Nico inspected around the space for the first time. It wasn''t clear before, but the inside of his soul was like an endless black ocean. Since the Koi was completely black, it blended effortlessly with the darkness of the ocean. Only its vibration indicated where it was. But no matter where it traveled, it was always inside of him and Nico could always sense its presence. Feeling a bit self conscious from being stared at, the Koi jumped out of him and onto the piece of scrap talisman paper. "Ah!" Nico was shocked for a moment, but quickly calmed down. He instinctively opened the talisman recipe to the five symbols. "Can you put these characters on the talisman?" asked Nico. The Midnight Koi stared at him like an idiot. Nico slowly instructed the Koi to move around like the characters in the recipe. It took them all night. As the Koi danced around, its vibration created lines that formed the characters. Congratulation, Red Flame Talisman Grade F created. "Woo hoo! We did it!" Nico was excited by his first magical creation. Nico wanted to use it immediately. He jumped out of the house and aimed the talisman toward the lake. According to the recipe, he could activate the talisman either by removing the Min character with the manalink, or by infusing the flame character with manaforce. He had no idea what a manaforce was, so he summoned the Midnight Koi. The Midnight Koi slithered its body and waved its tail at the talisman. The wave erased the min character. Once the character was removed, the ink disappeared from the paper and a fist sized fireball shot out into the lake. The fireball didn''t shoot out too far out before it dissipated. It was still a really amazing sight to see for Nico. Nico sat on the ground and stared at the sky. For the first time, he thought about how amazing this world was. Initially, he wanted to figure out a way to head back to Earth, but living like this wasn''t too bad. He had befriended a lot of the villagers and even built a house for himself. The koi stared into the starry night, wondering what interesting sight his host was looking at. "Hello Minko, my name is Nico," Nico introduced himself for the first time to the koi while naming it. Minko wrinkled about, it didn''t seem to mind the name. Nico closed his eyes and breathed in the cool air. Something unusual happened. It was like an out of body experience, he could see the lake and little glowing particles floating in the air. The glowing particles revealed distinct shapes and lines like complex symbols as it floated closer to him. The symbols passed through him and then floated away. He moved around in a slithering motion, swimming from one place to the next. He felt restricted, but free at the same time. Nico realized that he was viewing the world from Minko''s perspective. Combat Training Nico turned around and inspected the farm. Many of the manaherbs and even the regular herbs glowed while emitting and absorbing the floating particles. He wanted to move closer toward the herbs, but he felt an invisible force pulling him back. He turned around to face his real body, and pulled away. No matter what he did, he was always within a meter radius of his body. Nico opened his eyes, releasing himself from the trance, and walked closer to the manaherbs. He reentered the meditative state, and swam around a manaherb. There were ancient lines and symbols inscribed onto each part of the herb. Nico moved to a different plant of the same species. It had similar symbols, but more of it, likely indicating its age. After examining the different herbs in the garden, Nico immediately went inside the house and wrote down his observations about the symbols. The symbols were unusual in that they didn''t have a specific scale. No matter how much Nico had attempted to measure the symbols, he wasn''t sure if they were tiny like mustard seeds or large like coconuts. All he knew was that he could read the symbols clearly when they were nearby, and blurry when they were far. The symbols also didn''t have a dimension. No matter what direction he read the symbols from, they appeared in the same shape. The next morning, Nico attempted to examine the manaherbs with Minko''s vision. Although Minko was swimming about, Nico wasn''t able to enter a trance. Nico wondered if it was a fluke. After the sunset, Nico tested it out again. This time, he was able to inspect the herbs as Minko. Minko was true to its name, being more active during the nighttime. Nico used Minko''s vision to record the effects of the lifeless water on the manaherbs. All the herbs had more symbols than the day before, as well as the manafish core and the lifeless water infused core. Since he was only able to enter a trance at night, he never got the opportunity to analyze the lifeless water, which was only available after dawn. He could make some assumptions from the diluted version, but it may not be the same. Everytime he initiated manalink, the process of extracting mana from his body with Minko, it used up 1 MP. Once his MP was depleted, he was unable to create any more talismans. He still wasn''t sure what FP was. After two weeks, Nico completed the manafish task and he was rewarded with a Plus-One Pill recipe.
Tasks Progress Reward
*new* Kill 5 Manabeasts 0/5 Roulette Coupon
Plant and harvest 25 Bushel of Manaherb 7/25 Roulette Coupon
Tame 1 Manabeast 0/1 System Reward
Like the balm, he wasn''t able to meet the basic requirement of the Pill. Killing Manabeasts? Nico wondered if the system had taken his stats into consideration when assigning the task. After eating the manacore, his stats had increased, althought he could feel the effect of the manafish cores waning.
Status
Manaroot 17
Mananode 19
Manaspirit Midnight Koi 17
Strength 19
FP 4/4
Defense 14
Speed 15
Magic 17
MP 32/34
Resistance 19
Casting 12
If he wanted to complete the manabeast task, he needed to explore the Lindan Peak again without Pesticide. Before that could even happen, he needed someone to train him, someone like Rooster. From what he had heard from Chambers, Rooster was at least in the 2nd level of Condensation stage. "Haha! You want this old man to teach you how to fight?" asked Rooster. "What are you training for anyway?" "Juo said it''s the strong can rule the world?" Nico responded with a question sarcastically. "That pipsqueak is right, but you''re planning to rule the world?" Rooster burst out laughing. Nico just wanted to protect himself. "All right, I''m not going to make it difficult for you," said Rooster. "Juo belong to the clan, so he''s required to train if he wants to compete for his grandfather''s inheritance. It''s not required for most people, but it''s good to learn and protect yourself. The world outside this village isn''t pleasant, and I can tell you''re the type that will enter that world eventually." "Thanks Rooster!" "Why ya calling me Rooster! You should be calling me master from now on." Nico wasn''t willing to call him master, and Rooster didn''t truly care. Before the training began, Rooster wanted to test Nico level before he could decide on a specific lesson. They walked into the largest building in the village, the Shrine of Darbi, and paid to use the Halostone. The Halostone was a piece of stone that rested in a dark room by the center of the shrine. Once inside, he placed his hand on the stone. After a moment, the stone revealed the number 14. Based on what he had learned from Lorne and Rooster, it was considered a condensation stage. It was odd considering he had no spirit root. The number was also half of Minko, and was likely related to Minko''s level. Rooster thought Nico''s body was a bit odd. Nico looked small, but he had immense strength. "What have you been eating kid!?" Rooster cried. "A lot of manafish cores," Nico answered honestly. "You have some luck," remarked Rooster. If a mortal ate 50 manacores, they might not see as much benefit as Nico was getting. In fact, Rooster wasn''t sure if it was impossible for Nico to be level 14 and told Nico the matter hidden. "Before I start, I''ll tell you about the basic branches of combat." Nico nodded. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there."Combat is divided into six main classes," Rooster explained. "Scout, tanker, archer, warrior, magician and healer. I''m not a magician or healer, so I can''t explain much about them other than one is focused on attacking magic and the other is focused on healing. A scout is considered the information specialist and rely mainly on speed. You will often see the scout or magician in the role of the leader in a party. A tanker is in charge of defending the healer and magician. Strong spells require long casting time and concentration. Many magicians and healers will pair up with tankers to travel with them. Archer specializes in long range attack. Lastly, warrior is in charge of attacking. Within each class, there are sub-classes based on weapons, roles and styles." "Why is there a need to divide the classes?" asked Nico. "Isn''t it just easier to have multiple roles and attack the enemy?" "It''s possible, but assigning a class makes it easier to strategize and give orders. In a real battlefield or during a manabeasts attack, everything will be chaotic and people are placed under a lot of mental stress. If people are trained to focus on one particular role, they are more likely to perform that role and succeed. However, nothing restricts a healer from attacking or a warrior from healing. Performing outside the role in a battlefield may cause confusion, and I have seen it happen during desperate times." "So there aren''t hybrids?" "There are advanced classes that are hybrids, but they are rare and very powerful people. Warrior is the most common and balanced class. Tank is almost entirely strength and weight training. Scout is mainly dodging and aerobic training. Archer is entirely archery training. I am assuming you want to train as a warrior?" Nico nodded. "Which weapon would you like to use?" asied Rooster. So far, Nico liked using the spear. It had a better reach than a sword and easier to handle. However, it wasn''t easy to carry a spear around. If he wanted to move about quickly, a sword was a better option. "Can I learn one technique from different weapons?" Nico had little experience with weapons, so he didn''t know if he had a preference. "Greedy bastard. I can teach you the basics for different weapons, but in the future, I suggest sticking to one and mastering it," replied Rooster. "A specialist will usually always beat a good well rounded weapon fighter. Each weapon has its advantages and disadvantages. Also, a single weapon will have many varying styles, stances, counters, attacks and defense. In most situations, a spear is better. However, many weapons become secondary against cultivators." That was certainly true, thought Nico. No matter how talented a fighter was, if an opponent had a bazooka, it wouldn''t really matter. Nico began his training with Rooster.
"So, what''s the situation with the northern border?" Shirley asked the traveling merchant. In the winter time, there wasn''t much to be done. Many villagers gathered together in bars like the Cerbu restaurant inn to drink and talk. "Not particularly good," replied the traveling merchant Wundron. "Everyone is tensed in the capital and I heard General Erju is being assigned there." "That''s unfortunate," said Shirley with a worried expression. General Erju was known as the God of Havoc. "We haven''t had a war in 9 years. A couple of families still haven''t recovered from the last one. Did you hear anything about a potential draft?" "So far, not yet," replied Wundron. "All we know is that the Teragin Empire have stationed more than 80,000 soldiers by the northeastern border. They say it''s precaution against potential manabeasts attack from Kimson Mountain, but you never know. Their new emperor Korbosho is said to be quite a ruthless person." "Ha, what are you worried about!?" asked Pauley from across the room. "Not only do we have General Erju, we also have the Warlord Defender General Tairun. The northern border is pretty much secured. We should be more worried about the increased taxes." "Ya always worrying about money," said Rooster drinking at the bar. "What do you think of the situation?" asked Chambers sitting next to Rooster. "You know what the Emperor is like." "Emperor Limain is a cautious person, and won''t go to war unless it is clear that the Teragin Empire is planning something," said Chambers. "Pauley is right about the northern border, it is extremely well protected. If Teragin wants to make a move, they should be attacking from the northwest." "That is what concerns me," said Rooster. "Imagine, if the Teragin Empire is moving their army because of the manabeasts, what sort of attacks are they so worried about that they need to mobilize 80,000 soldiers?" "You don''t really think they are telling the truth about the manabeasts attacks?" Shirley pondered. "That hasn''t happened in over 40 years." Everyone in the restaurant remained silent. At their age, they could still remember what had happened 41 years ago. "Ah, so, I haven''t seen Nico in awhile, what has that kid been doing?" asked Chamber breaking off the eerie silence. Rooster broke off in laughter. "The rotten brat went off to Lindan Peak for training apparently," replied Rooster. Chamber slammed his drink in response. "You can''t be kidding!? You''re sending a kid off to the wilderness alone? But you never send any your soldiers off to the wilderness alone." "Haha! It isn''t like it''s his first time out there." Rooster grabbed Chamber by the neck and pulled him closer. "Okay Chamber, be ready to be amazed!" Said Rooster burping out his beer. Chamber pushed Rooster''s face away. The stench was making him vomit. "You know, the first time I started training the kid, I thought it would be somewhat cute," said Rooster. "He''s not too much younger than the kids they normally bring in to boot camp, you know, the 13-years old boys. We started training with a short staff. His initial stance was defensive, but it wasn''t too bad. However, after a simple slash from me, his staff flew out. He didn''t have a firm grip, and still green when it comes to combat, so I taught him the different guard stances. Afterward, he was able to maintain his weapon and put up a good defense. His attack was still on the weak side. We did a lot of striking, thrusting and cutting drills. He was strong already, so it was easy for him to achieve basic attacks once I show him the form. His movement was lacking quite a bit, so I taught him several footwork and steps. Before I know, the kid had already bested me." "The kid beat you with a staff?" asked Chamber. "Not just the staff," said Rooster. "He might falter the first few times, but once he gets the hang of a certain weapon, he wouldn''t lose a fight." While they were in the midst of conversation, Nico was in the middle of a Mexican standoff against a giant manasnake. Nicos Anatomy The manasnake, a giant beast towering over 15 feet, slithered slowly before a little boy. The brown and black scale pattern decorated its forehead and traveled down to its tail. It bared its fang and hissed, ready to strike its prey at any moment. Nico mirrored the snake movement around the small clearing in the forest, holding a short sword steadily in his right hand and watching the manasnake cautiously with his eyes. For 5 minutes, but what felt like hours, Nico and the manasnake had been at a standstill. The manasnake was wary of its prey. By its natural instinct, it was telling itself to be careful of the little human boy. 40 years of its hunting experience was telling itself to run. The snake snapped and lunged toward Nico. Its jaw widened, large enough to engulf a tree, and aimed its fang toward Nico''s head. Nico stepped backward, bent his knees, and flipped on top of the manasnake. He landed on top, reversed his sword grip, and plunged his short sword backward toward the back of the snake''s head. The snake quickly lowered its head down to dodge and coiled itself inside its scaly body to protect the head. The rotational movement of the coil deflected Nico away. Nico landed on both feet and bent his knees to reduce the recoil. Without wasting any time, Nico sprang to the side and rammed the short sword towards the snake''s left eye and into its brain. Thud! The ground shook, and then there was silence. The series of attacks lasted no more than 10 seconds, but the manasnake was already dead. The dark blue blood seeped out onto the frozen white covered ground. Strange occurrences like this was becoming familiar to Nico. He would never imagine a snake appearing during the wintertime, but apparently the manasnake didn''t brumate during the winter. He would also never imagine himself capable to killing a manabeast himself. It was quite anti-climatic when he encountered his first manabeast, the yellow bobcat. His legs were shaking at the sight of the manabobcat. He reminded himself that he was close to the farm and could run safely back to the farm anytime. He had also learned light heal from harvesting the manaherbs, so he could heal himself if he gets injured. Who would have thought that a simply whack to the head with a spear could destroy the manabobcat. It wasn''t even a proper thrust. Nico approached the dead manasnake. Nico sliced open the back of the manasnake head and retrieved a shiny blue orb. After stuffing the manacore inside his shirt, he checked on his status. Status: Manaroot: None Mananode: None Manaspirit: Midnight Koi 28 Strength: 26 FP: 7/7 Defense: 20 Speed: 24 Magic: 28 MP: 52/52 Resistance: 24 Casting: 18 Recipes: First-Aid Ointment > Healing Balm Red Flame Talisman > Tri-color Flame Talisman Accessory Enhancement Inscription Plus-One Pill Technique: Whirlwind Spear Spell: Light Heal Tasks: Tame 1 Manabeast. 0/1. Reward: System Reward. Kill 25 Manabeast. 24/25. Reward: Roulette Coupon. "One more to go," he said to himself. A wolf appeared in the area, and dragged the snake carcass away. "Good to see you again too Ollie," he said to the wolf as it was leaving. "Such a rude ass wolf. Steal my prey and run away without even a proper thank you. You''re welcome!" It was better that way, he thought. He already had more than enough materials in storage and there were no more spaces available to store anymore carcasses. Nico looked around for any unusual plants. It was usually best to gather herbs at night using Minko''s vision. However, during the winter, the only thing that would survive were manaherbs, so naturally they were easier to identify. Nico spotted a yellow blooming plant off in the distance. He loaded a large and heavy leather bag onto his back. There were herbs and mushrooms he had picked up. Most of the weight came from the rocks. It was rare to find manarocks. Everything had mana, but when an object becomes capable of storing cluster of manas, they were manafied, a term Nico made up and popularized. A regular lavender regularly inhaled and exhaled manas from nature. After cultivating the manalavender from lifeless water, the manalavender formed a seed-sized manacore. Creating manafied dirt or rocks from lifeless water were useless. Nico could see that it was ineffective. Lifeless water were quite useless on a number of inorganic substance. So when Nico found manafied rocks, he was surprised. Nico headed toward the yellow plant. The yellow plants, like many wild manaplants, naturally had better manacore because they were likely sprouted with a manacore. The location of the plant was separated by a small chasm and elevated cliffs. Nico jumped easily from one boulder to the next. It almost felt supernatural, but Nico had gotten use to his strength and high jumps. He reached the plant and re-examined it. It was a plant he had never seen before. He took out a spade and uprooted the plant from its rocky home. As he was wrapping the plant, a loud howl was heard in the distance. The howl caused the entire peak to go on alert. Nico quickly stored the plant and headed toward the direction of the howl. If this was a month ago, he would have run off in the opposite direction and back to the farm. Now that he was aware of his strength, he wasn''t as afraid as he was before. Also, the howl sounded familiar. Nico raced through the woods and followed the tracks from the dragged snake. In the distance, he saw Ollie attacking two giant grizzly bears twice its size. The golden maned manabears were bulky and thick, but unusually fast. They charged at Ollie in quick succession. When one finished charging, the other would follow. Their movement were short ranged, but powerful and strong. Although they were fast, Ollie was faster. He evaded one manabear and then the other. The bear large size had a disadvantage; it took them extra movement to turn back around. Ollie clamped the hind leg of the manabear before it could turn to attack again. The manabear retaliated by back slamming Ollie. Ollie released quickly just before it could sandwich him to the ground. Nico noticed another wolf already dead on the ground, and sped up his pace. The manabear roared a deadly attack. Nico felt the roar, and momentarily froze. "What the!?" Nico felt its mythical effect. Ollie was also momentarily frozen, and the other manabear took the opportunity to snap its jaw onto Ollie''s neck. Ollie howled in pain, and two baby cubs whimpered tearily from behind its dead mother. Ollie shook wildly and crawled the manabear away. The manabear backed away while Ollie limped to the ground. Nico shook out of the spell and continued his mad dash toward the manabears. When he was within attacking range, Nico shot out two talismans. A blue centered flame shot out toward the manabears. The Manabears flared up in flames by the sneak attack. Angered by their sudden hair loss, the manabears charged toward the interloper. Nico gripped his spear on his left and short sword on his right. He didn''t like to dual wield because he was naturally weaker on his left hand, and it was impractical most of the time. However, he was facing two beasts and it was a good time to test it out. When they were within range, Nico continued his charge. Nico briefly collided with the bears and appeared on the opposite side. He quickly approached Ollie to cast Light Heal. The two manabears were already dead on the ground. Both laid pitifully lifeless with weapons sticking out of their mouths. Nico had judged that the right one would attack first and then the second would pause and wait for its turn. Nico continued charging knowing that their attacks were limited to straight linear charge. He side stepped to the left after embedding the short sword into the manabear on the right. Continuing his charge, he used Whirlwind Spear and quickly dismantled the manabear on the left before it could launch its attack. Normally his left-handed thrust without any body momentum and support was weak, but Whirlwind Spear was a technique with wind support, which added force and compensated for his lack of proper positioning. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Light Heal was slowly activating and a white light appeared and sealed up Ollie''s wound. Spells were not too different from recipes. He did not automatically learn how to use the spell, but had to read through the instructions of how to cast a spell. Receiving a spell was like receiving a skill book. In the spell box, there were information on the best time to use the spell, the best type of supporting equipment, and many different types and variations of Light Heal depending who it was casted on. For example, the type of Light Heal cast on Ollie would be different from a Light Heal cast on a human. For a magic spell, Nico needed Minko to collect 6 different symbols from the environment. They were mostly symbols Nico associated with the sun, so he never saw a lot of it. On a full moon, there were slightly more than usual. There were different binding and combinations from those symbols. Imagine the molecules of atoms and the variations of the structures. Light Heal required for canine based manabeasts needed different 21 combinations. Once all the combinations were completed, Nico selected a target and the spell was released. Nico slowly wiped away the blood from Ollie''s silver gray fur. It had stopped bleeding after Nico performed heal, but it was still weak from the fight. Ollie stared forlornly and painfully at its dead partner. When he had returned with Nico''s dead manasnake, he saw his beloved fighting heroically to protect their cubs. As an alpha, he should have done better to protect the family. Ollie slowly pulled himself up and headed over to his partner. The other cubs continued to whimpered, but peered up from underneath their mother to look at their father. Nico slowly approached the mother. No reaction from Ollie lifeless eyes. Nico knelt down before the mother and held onto the her warm body. Unfortunately, there was no sign of life. "Sorryˇ­" It was the only thing Nico could say. There wasn''t much else he could do. Nico slowly got up and prepared to head back home. He had completed his tasks, and it had already been three days since he had been away from home. Later that night, Nico set up camp and fire-pit in a little clearing. It would take him another day to reach the farm. Nico covered himself with a blanket. The blanket wasn''t needed to keep him warm, but it was comforting to have. Nico sulked into his knees. He was a grown ass man, he shouldn''t be crying over a dead wolf, he scolded himself. A chilling breeze blew through and rustled the trees. The cold used to bother him, but when he thought about Minko, he naturally felt warm. Nico thought about the movement of Minko circulating around his body, and although it may be in his head, he felt warmer. Nico opened the new recipe he had just received. It was an actual food recipe this time. Recipes: First-Aid Ointment > Healing Balm Red Flame Talisman > Tri-color Flame Talisman Accessory Enhancement Inscription Plus-One Pill Firehouse Steak It sounded delicious, but he didn''t have all the ingredients. The main ingredient was manabeasts and there were several fire requirement like the Plus-One Pill. Nico stared intently at the firepit for a long time. Nico held out his right hand toward the firepit and rested it on his knee for stability. He wanted to attempt a fire spell. He was well versed with the different fire symbols and combinations. Regular flames had 3 symbols, Red Flame had 4 symbols, and Tri-color Flame had 6 symbols. Nico repeated the different combinations in his head. There was one symbol it shared with the Light Heal Spell. What was different? What was the same? He pondered. Spells had stringent structure, order and combination requirement. Talisman, on the other hand, did not have a symbol structure. However, when the talisman was unleashed, the structure was very similar to the fire from the pit. Talisman had an order requirement. If the order of the symbols was incorrect, it would not work. Nico instructed Mink to gather the fire symbols nearby and followed the order of the fire symbols that were formed the moment it was released by the talisman. He then replicated the structure and combination of the fireball. As the symbols gathered in his right hand, he felt a flare of energy. Find a target and release. Nico stared into the fire-pit, a moment later, a large fireball shot out from Nico''s hand. "Bloody! ******* Hell!" Nico screamed as he charred his right hand. He jumped quickly to find the ointment and smeared it on his hand. He cast light heal on himself, and his hand slowly recovered. "Reminder to self, don''t be stupid!" Nico sat on the log. "Maybe a wind spell is safer to test," he thought. Whirlwind Spear was a cultivation technique and was slightly different from spells. The technique was specifically made for spear, and could be used with other weapons, but with less efficiency. The attacks were a lot stronger than what Rooster had taught. Rooster was a competent teacher, but his knowledge was limited to techniques for military formations and attacks. The first half of the instructions were detailed footwork, guards, and attacking guidelines. There were many movements and skills in the cultivation technique that were extraneous on a typical spearman, but worked well for cultivators. The second half of the instructions were detailed description of how to release gale force into the spear. Creating the force required him to exert all his energy into the spear. When the force was aimed at the target, the power of the wind was unleashed. Nico spent a lot of time trying to create the gale force. One particular line he had trouble with was, "focus the ji, hu, yu, te, and min symbols into the spear." At first, he had instructed Minko to help out like the talisman, but it was ineffective. Nico continued to focus the symbol to his palm out of habit. Although it wasn''t gale force, the technique was strong. He triggered whirlwind spear entirely by accident, but once he triggered it, it became easier for him to use it again. The gale force was quicker than creating spells, but it was physically and mentally draining. It was his first time using the FP, and it drained down to zero. After using the technique, Nico wasn''t able to use it again until the next day. Using the knowledge of wind in the whirlwind spear, he could use it to experiment with wind spell. But before Nico could test out a wind spell, he noticed Ollie approaching him from the left. Ollie carried the two cubs with his mouth and dropped off the cubs at Nico''s foot. Ollie raised his eyes to Nico''s level and his eyes communicated a request. Ollie wasn''t sure if Nico understood his request, and nudged his cubs toward Nico. Nico hugged the cubs and placed them on his lap. After caressing the cubs'' cheeks with his nose, Ollie leapt away toward the north. The two cubs pawed their soft claws onto Nico''s thighs, wanting to follow their father, but Nico held them back. Nico understood that Ollie wanted him to keep the cubs safe. "Take care," Nico commented. The cubs watched their father disappeared into the distance. They settled down and whimpered a soft goodbye, as they knew it would be a long time before they would see him again. Their father had told them to become strong and listen to their new master. Congratulation, Tame 1 Manabeast Task Complete. Receive System Reward. Nico cuddled the cubs. One was a male and the other was a female cub. "Your name will be Ollie Jr. and your name will be Snowy," Nico anointed their names. "Any objections?" The cubs didn''t understand, and chewed on his coat. They were already hungry. "We can hunt tomorrow and you can eat the carcass," said Nico. "I believe you have already eaten, and it''s not good to eat late at night, you don''t want to get fat." Placing Snowy on his shoulder, Nico opened the new icon that had appeared as a system reward. What appeared in the Avatar box was a 3-D replica of his own body with x-ray features and anatomical maps that would make any doctor jealous. The box allowed him to zoom in and out of his body. He could see his nerves, circulation system, lymphatic system and even nodes. He wasn''t familiar with nodes, but he assumed it had to do with acupuncture points and meridians. Nico fell asleep studying his anatomy. Roots of Mana The next morning, Nico diligently unwrapped all the manaherbs and manacores he had gathered. He laid them out and waited for the lifeless water to fill up. In the meantime, he checked the task box. Tasks: *new* Kill 200 Manabeasts. 1/200. Reward: Roulette Coupon. *new* Kill 5 Manabeast Terrors. 0/5. Reward: Roulette Coupon. *new* Create 5 Alchemy Pills. 0/5. Reward: Roulette Coupon. There were three new tasks. Of the three, manabeast terrors and alchemy pills were above his understanding. At dawn, the lifeless water filled up like clockwork. Nico squeezed the top round nozzle, and a drop of water dripped out onto the manaherbs. Nico continued until everything was infused with lifeless water. He had attempted to add additional drop of lifeless water before, but it was ineffective. Junior and Snowy climbed over him, and clawed their way onto his arm as though they wanted a drink. They were attracted to the scent of the lifeless water. "Are you sure you can handle this?" asked Nico. "Just a bit of warning, you''re going to pass out if you drink this!" They greedily sucked on the nozzle like a pacifier. Nico didn''t know what he was expecting, but they both passed out. "Well, at least it''s going to be a quiet day." Nico cradled the two cubs to his chest and strapped them on tightly. They cuddled together and softly yapped in their sleep like they were savoring every last drop of the lifeless water. Nico was sure he didn''t look as cute when he had passed out. Nico slipped out a manacore from his breast pocket and swallowed. He studied the avatar and status box. Status: Manaroot: None Mananode: None Manaspirit: Midnight Koi 28 Strength: 27 FP: 7/7 Defense: 20 Speed: 25 Magic: 28 MP: 56/56 Resistance: 24 Casting: 18 His strength and speed increased after his fight with the manabears. His manaspirit status had been stuck on 28 for awhile. It was an important stat that seems to improve all the other stats. Watching his anatomy from the avatar box, he saw the path of the manacore inside his body. Minko happily wiggled its way toward the manacore and nibbled on some of the symbols. There were some leftover symbols that remained in his digestive system. Minko had a preference for certain symbols, and other symbols were simply wasted. Nico wanted to find a way to use them. Nico rushed back to the farm. Three unlucky manabeasts crossed his path during the way. One, death by thrust to the eye, two, death by thrust to the anus, and three, dead by thrust to the anus. Nico looked at the managoat carcass, it was a male. He wondered if there was a female goat around. Nico thought for a moment, he wanted to capture one and domesticate it. There might be a way, but he had to place Pesticide slightly closer to the village. It could be his next project. Nico dragged two 500 kg manabeasts back to the farm. He could have carried all three manabeasts, but he didn''t want to pile them on top of the two cubs. At the foot of Lindan Peak, the wooden gate of his farm came into view between the clearing of the trees. Nico glowed. It felt good to be back home. The farm had few minor upgrades. The first was a water mill by the river that powered the irrigation system. Everyday, the water, infused with lifeless water, from a wooden storage tank would flow out into the field. Water was a strange substance. It couldn''t be considered manawater, but it had a similar effect to lifeless water, albeit very weak. The diluted water were drinkable, refreshing, and had sanitizing effect. It was also suitable for bathing. Unfortunately, it didn''t have healing or other magical properties. The next upgrade was a compost outpost made mostly from his own body waste and a heated bathhouse. Nico wasn''t capable enough to provide modern conveniences like plumbing and electricity. The last upgrade was a secret cave behind his house that he had been slowly digging out. He kept the Pesticide bracelet hidden inside. Nico checked on the few manaherbs in the field, they were still growing and healthy even in the midst of winter. Nico had learned that not all manaherb required water and that some manaherb were growing better in the wintertime. The ones that couldn''t handle the cold were placed in the secret cave behind the house. Everything else in the farm was the same as when he had left it a week ago. Other than Rooster, no one knew about the farm. Nico had mentioned it casually to Rooster and Chamber when they talked about the house. They nodded it off, but didn''t ask any further. Although the mayor office was aware of his lease, they never believed that he was going to cultivate the property seriously. If anything, no one wanted to leave the safe zone to satisfy their curiosity. Nico entered his house and immediately started the fireplace using the talisman. He dropped the two sleeping cubs by the fireplace, walked back outside and dragged the two manabeast carcasses by the kitchen. After a bit of preparation, Nico unsheathed the skinning knife and carefully skinned the managoat and manadeer. Manabeasts could be sold to traveling merchants or even one of the wealthy nobles for 10 gold pieces. However, that was only if the manacore was still in tack. A simple carcass was only worth 1 gold piece since the only usable parts were the fangs, claws, skins, and innards. The flesh was useless to most people. The hides and skins of manabeasts were valuable commodities for traveling merchants. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. When he first sold the hides, the merchants were only willing to pay 40 silvers, citing the cuts and poor condition of the hides. A hide in perfect condition could sell for 70 silver pieces. To keep the hides in good condition, Nico focused on killing the manabeasts through their openings like the mouth, eyes and anuses. Those that were killed by blunt force trauma were considered lucky. After hanging the hides to dry by the window, he stored the innards and usable parts. Nico looked at the flesh. Nico used to pile it outside of the farm for Ollie, but he had a feeling that he won''t be seeing Ollie again in awhile. Nico stored the remaining flesh to feed the cubs later. He left a chuck of meat out for his Firehouse Steak experiment. He needed manameat steak, managarlic, manabutter, manalemon, and salt. Manameat, check, and managarlic, check. He had managarlic that he had evolved from regularly feeding lifeless water to the garlic plants. He was missing manabutter. He had to use regular butter as a substitute. The recipes sounded simple, but the meat was still raw even after being in direct flame for an hour. Nico had to use the flame talisman directly to cook the meat. But even then, the system didn''t give him a rating or message. Nico didn''t have all the correct ingredients, but he mainly attributed the failure to the lack of correct flame. The instruction to properly cook goat meat was the Blue Crimson Flame at 150 degrees Celsius. Nico remembered when he had used the tri-color flames on the manabears, all of their fur turned into ashes, but there were barely any damage to the manabears themselves. Whereas, if he were to use the same tri-color flames on manaspiders, they would be dead after one or two shots. There may be many different types of flames, as there may be different types of winds, water, earth, light, and other elements. Nico understanding of this world was still very lacking. After sunset, Nico focused on examining his body with the avatar screen and Minko''s vision. He ate one manacore and studied the effects as it entered his body. Minko ate some of the symbols attributed to water and darkness. Although there were similar symbols floating everywhere in the environment, Minko could only absorb the symbols that were in Nico''s system. Minko finished feeding, but there were still some remaining unused symbols swirling around his stomach. In two or three days, the symbols naturally seeped out of his body. He thought it was unfair that Minko could get stronger as it ate the symbols, but he couldn''t use it. He could get stronger through Minko, this was shown when he tested his level. Nico remembered some of Rooster''s explanation about spiritual roots and meridians. Could real cultivators store the manacore using the roots and meridians? That could explain why manacores were so prized by cultivators. Since he had a mortal root and no meridians, was there a way for him to store the symbols? Was spiritual root the only way? If he had a mortal root, where was it located in his body? The belly button where the meridians seemed to be centralized in? Or was a mortal root a nice way to saying, your life is **** and you have no spiritual root. Was the spiritual root the same as manaroot on his status box? The status menu clearly stated that he had no root. "Argh!!" Nico wanted to pull out his hair thinking about it. He needed to find more information. "Ah, wait a minute, there''s gale force," Nico head lit up. From his experience, there were three ways to use mana. First was by using Minko to create symbols, which cost MP. Second was by using Minko to gather symbols, which also cost MP. Third was by using the mana in his body to create a gale force, which cost FP. He had always wondered about the exact methodology behind gale force. The main requirement was for him to focus. Nico slowly focused on the symbols and forced them to move into his right hand. The avatar box displayed the movement of the leftover symbols in his body. They were slowly moving to his arm and into his right hand. Mana symbols were mindless sometimes. They didn''t all listen to Nico, and some floated astray. Some symbols collided into each other, lost their characters and turned into glowing strings. The strings reminded him of what Minko had formed when making talismans. Since the strings were still in his body, it didn''t cost him any FP. Nico stopped his concentration and watched the strings of energy circulate freely around his body. He felt something similar to this when he had failed whirlwind spear. However, after a few days, the energy disappeared. The strings had either dissipated or leaked out of his body. Nico focused on the strings, and it stayed, mostly still. Nico decided to place all the strings into the center node. Nico felt that the area was the most important, but he didn''t know how much of that was influenced by what Rooster had told him regarding meridians. The strings gathered and floated around the node. However, if he lets go of his concentration, the strings drifted away. To keep it from escaping, Nico tied it into endless knots. In theory, knots are bigger, hence, take longer to seep out. It was a simple logic that might not work on manastrings, but he had no other ideas. Nico ate more manacores, and continuously made the strings. He tied and wrapped the strings into a giant ball. As it gained more strings, it balled up and moved slower like an overweight hamster. That gave Nico an idea. The next day, the ball moved up to his chest. He didn''t see any shrinkage, which was a good sign. He added more and more strings onto the ball. Keeping the ball centralized and inside of his body required a lot of concentration. It was difficult to maintain daily, but meditation helped. Nico carried on with his usual routine while maintaining the ball in his body. Rinlin Village in Winter Wonderland Another day of drinking. Winter was very boring. There was nothing to do, and very few people were out in the streets. They could only sit by the fireplace, drink, gossip and drink. Chamber braved the weather and walked toward the Cerbu Restaurant. He hiked through the snow layered alley, his short legs imprinting each step with holes almost half a meter high. Flurried snowflakes blew into Chamber''s face sending a chill down his spine. He hated winter. Chamber pushed open the handle and closed the door as he entered the restaurant. Chamber pulled over to his usually seat and ordered the house ale. There were two other people in the restaurant, the bartender and Rooster. "Catch anything today?" Asked Chamber. "Winter is my favorite time of year!" Rooster howled nonsensically. "I guess that means yes." Every few people enjoy ice fishing, but Rooster fished religiously as soon as the lake froze over. "I''m surprised you''re here," Rooster commented. "Don''t you have prayer service tomorrow?" "In this storm? Are you crazy, they are likely to cancel it tomorrow." "And yet you''re here." "Sasha said I need to exercise more. That''s why I''m here." "That''s a pathetic excuse to drink." Rooster chugged down the rest of his ale. "Oh, do you remember my top 4 students at Kisdell Military Camp?" "Hmmˇ­ Wouldn''t that be Yuer, Chance, Lord Caspur and Lady Eliana?" Chamber recalled. "Do you remember what they excel at?" Chamber shook his head, but he remembered two of them, vaguely. "Doesn''t the Black Knight Yuer specialize in magic sword? Lady Eliana is said to be a master archer." "Lord Caspur isn''t well known, but he''s a very good spearman of the Terull Brigade and Chance is a scout and weaponry expert in the capital," Rooster said. "So, what about them?" Chamber wondered how many drinks Rooster had already, he was bragging about his students. "I''ve asked them to provide Nico with recommendation letters. Just got them today." "Do you think this will work? Windel Academy isn''t going to accept students without a spiritual root, he''s going to fail during the exam week." "It''s worth a try... To be honest, I''m not too sure myself. But then again, there isn''t anything else I can teach him. The Academy might take him even without a spiritual root. If they don''t take him, it''s still good for him to see Launtel City." Rooster turned a bit serious. "Well, isn''t that good news?" "Yuer sent me another letter. He''s concerned about Kimson Mountain Range. He didn''t say anything specifically, but he might come to Rinlin." **** Pinaton Shop stayed open no matter what condition it was outside. The female shop clerks dusted the cabinets and swept the floor. There were barely anyone shopping in the storm, but if they didn''t do something, they might go crazy from boredom. The door swung open. A gust of wind and flurry assaulted the shop. A customer! The girls were excited for a moment until they saw Shirley. Shirley regularly stopped by to chat with Kanna. Shirley was always a joy to have because she brings with her all the juicy gossip, but winter gossips were stale, like the bread they had that morning. Shirley slammed the door and noticed the girls returning to wipe the cabinets, probably for the nth times already. One person was noticeably absent. "Where''s Juo?" Shirley walked toward the counter and sat on a little footstool. "Probably playing hooky somewhere," Kanna said as she restocked some of the medicine cabinet. Kanna let out a sigh. Despite her saying that, she knew that he was likely cultivating somewhere. Out of everyone in the Pinaton Clan, Juo was one of the few that communicated regularly with common folks like her. He was also the one with the least amount of talent. "I have wonderful news to share with everyone!" Shirley announced gallantly. The girls continued working through Shirley enthusiasm. "I''ve convinced Nico to open a shop!" The shop girls grasped. "No way! He has saved enough to open a shop?" Kanna had another thought. "He''s not going to compete with the Pinaton and Lancet?" "No, no, no," Shirley calmed the girls down. "It''s not going to be a big shop like the Pinaton''s. It''s just going to be a little grocery shop that sells vegetables, herbs and simple commodities. It will also have space for small vendors to set up shops inside. I''m helping him search for a good location. I''ve also talked to Wundron about an exclusive contract to export some goods as well." "And let me guess, you''re going to manage the shop?" "Of course, who else has the vending experience and connections?" "Why does this sound like you scamming the poor boy into leasing you a shop?" **** After the winter season and nearly 300 dead manabeasts later, Nico continued adding manastrings to the ball. In the Avatar box, each node was indicated by a dot, but the dot indicated location, not the size of the node. Nico could zoom into the node, but he could not determine the size of the node. It was very similar to the symbols in that respect, that it didn''t have a scale. However, because the manaball was part of him, the ball gave him the impression that it was very heavy. Too heavy. Nico felt a sudden change and fell to his knees. The knotted ball collapsed. He shook his head to clear up the dizziness. Once he recovered from shock, he opened his status box. Status: Manaroot: Chaos 1 Mananode: 1 Manaspirit: Midnight Koi 29 Strength: 37 FP: 9/12 Defense: 25 Speed: 25 Magic: 29 MP: 58/61 Resistance: 26 Casting: 20 He did it! Nico was offended by the name the system had given his manaroot. He had gambled many manacores to create a manaroot and the system had the nerve to call it chaos. Well, at least it sounded cool and useful. With his chaos manaroot formed, Nico didn''t have to concentrate every day to keep it within his body. The root was naturally stable, ironically. There was chaos whenever there were mana around. Whenever he ate a manacore, the manaroot would fight Minko to gobble up all the symbols. It was more accurate to say that Minko would fight with the manaroot. Nico was sure that the manaroot had no emotions like Minko and that its chaotic tendency was natural like mother nature. It absorbed all types of mana, it didn''t discriminate. Mananode had also increased by one. Maybe it was due to the manaroot being placed in the middle of a node. Nico wanted to see if he could create another one, maybe in the head node next. Nico naturally told Rooster about the manaroot. Rooster was not a serious person, but when he was, Nico was always a bit wary. "Nico, if anyone asks you about your spiritual root, you must tell them that you are born with it, do you understand?" Rooster advised. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Nico nodded. "Is there a reason why? I thought you said there were clans that have techniques to upgrade their roots." "Let me tell you a quick story about the Hestin Clan of the Gertun City," Rooster explained. "Spiritual roots are mainly inherited, therefore many clans will create marriage relations with another clan. If one parent has a spiritual root, the child has a 50% chance to inherit the spiritual root from the ancestry gene and 50% with a mortal root. With two parents, there are 74% chance of inheriting a spiritual root, 25% chance of inheriting nothing and 1% chance of inheriting a hybrid spiritual root. In the Hestin Clan, there is a requirement for every member over the age of 18 to have a spiritual root. Otherwise, they are kicked out of the family. At a young age, the members without inherited spiritual root practice the Hestin Clan spiritual arts. It is an ancestral cultivation method from the original Hestin founder who had formed the original Creek Water Root. However, the price to pay for the Creek Water Root is his right eye. Everyone who has practiced the Hestin Clan spiritual arts must sacrifice their right eye to receive the spiritual root. The Hestin Clan is the most famous example because their sacrifice is physically visible. Many other clan arts may have special requirements and sacrifices, but it''s not immediately known. Most clans aren''t willing to share their weaknesses to others. So do you understand why you need to keep this a secret?" "Unwanted attention?" "Yes. Although your method is safer, I doubt there is anyone who can replicate your method. Even if a person has a mortal root and 2 meridians, they won''t be able to replicate your method. First, the exact location to place the root needs to be precise. That is not something a person without a spiritual root could do, it''s a paradox. Only through luck can this happen. I know there is something else you have to help you achieve this, but I won''t ask you about it. This is what you need to keep secret. If I can draw that conclusion, other people will too. We don''t know what sort of people will want to take you in for experimentation or take advantage of you." Nico nodded in agreement. Nico was still naive in some aspects. "Hey, now that you have a spiritual root, do you want to join an academy?" suggested Rooster. "An academy?" Nico asked. "I was able to cultivate to the 3rd stage of Condensation due to lucky encounters, so I am not well versed in cultivation," said Rooster admittedly. "You will be able to learn more about magic and cultivation at the academy. Are you interested?" "Isn''t the nearest Academy the Windel Academy in Launtel? That''s 3 days of travel." Rooster nodded and then laugh. "What? You''re afraid of leaving this old man!?" "No way! I just don''t want to leave my farm unattended," said Nico. "The Ollie Shop still hasn''t open yet." "I can take care of your farm and help Shirley while you''re away," said Rooster. "The Academy starts in Pahol and ends in Erahol. It''s not like you''re going away forever." "Isn''t Windel Academy really hard to get into?" "There are many ways to get in," said Rooster. "One way is to get three recommendations from the military or government officials. I can give you one and two friends of mine can give you theirs." Nico stared suspiciously at Rooster. "You planned this earlier, didn''t you?" Rooster grinned and nodded. "It was either the military camp or the academy, and I thought the Academy suits you better. You''re league above the military camp." Nico was still hesitate about the Academy. One of the worries, rather, two of the worries were Junior and Snowy. Rooster arrived at the farm for the first time. He was genuinely surprised at how well made everything was. Chambers had told him about the different structures he had helped Nico to sketch out and design. Irrigation systems and waterwheels had existed for centuries, but for a single boy to pull everything together was unbelievable. The farm fields were also well maintained with vegetables and strange herbs growing in neat rows. It was early spring where plants were just starting to bud, but the plants in the farm were lush and vibrant like it was in the middle of the summer season. His biggest shock came from the two silver manabeasts playing around the farm. Taming manabeasts was extremely difficult, especially wolf-type beasts who were known to be proud creatures. "The academy will allow tamed manabeasts," said Rooster. "It''s not unusual for young clan masters to have young manabeasts. However, wolf-type manabeasts tend to revert back to their natural predatory instinct after they reach maturity. Once they break the bond of loyalty, the Darbi Blessing will repel them." "It''s okay, I''ll release them when that happens," said Nico. Rooster looked at the two managoats eating fodder by the cliff. "You domesticated two managoats!?" asked Rooster. "Four, the other two are roaming around somewhere," said Nico. It took Nico the entire winter to tame them. First, he had to think of a way to use Pesticide to trap the managoats. The farmhouse was 100-m away from the village safe zone. Part of village safe zone touched the southern portion of the cliff. Nico wanted to move Pesticide so that its zone and the village zone create one wilderness zone in-between the cliff and the river to trap animals. There were two other problems. First, he would have to bury Pesticide in the middle of the farm, which might not be a huge problem, and even has its advantages. Pesticide was originally hidden in the cave because it was one of the most important items he possessed, so he didn''t want it stolen. Pesticide had the effective range of 10m radius, which meant only 7 meters radius of farm fields could be protected, 3 meters were the width of the farmhouse. If he buried it in the middle of the farm, he would have 17 meters diameter of farm fields. The second problem was the more difficult one to solve. The lower end of the cliff and the river were 25 meters apart. Even if he moved pesticide, there would be gaps for manabeasts to escape, that doesn''t even include the possibility of them swimming away. There was one possible solution, expanding the river. If a weak boy could build a house in a month, a boy with a Chaos manaroot should be able to dig out 5 meters of land, remove several tons of dirt in the middle of winter with a partially frozen river; it should be a breeze. A month later, the river was expanded and Pesticide was buried in the middle of the field, marked by a scarecrow. The wilderness area in between was still a large space for manabeasts to roam around. Nico had a cliff shelter and fodder bin closer to the farm filled with managrasses. Nico beat down a couple of managoats and carried them back to the pen. At first, there were a few varieties that swam away, but he was lucky to find four that were afraid of water. He could get more, but he didn''t need too many. Once the four got used to him and the free food, they naturally felt a sense of loyalty. They could even go inside the farm area, but it was forbidden. They knew that breaking the rules may get them killed or maybe in Snowy and Junior''s dinner plans. Now, Rooster, fisherman turned farmer, was in charge of their daily needs. Caravan Party A few weeks later, Nico hauled a large leather bag onto the back of a large passenger carriage. There were four other carriages lined up together by the road with a symbol of the Lunpin Caravan Company. Nico paid the caravan leader, Lennox, 10 silver pieces. Lennox, a middle aged man with a curved medium-length sword by his side, gazed curiously at the two little cubs strapped in front of Nico. "Be careful not to have the cubs disturb the other passengers," Lennox cited. "Yes mister," Nico saluted. Lennox straddled on his horse and headed to the front. He was the only person riding on horseback. "Juniper, take the rear and tell everyone to prepare to take off," instructed Lennox. Juniper, bulkier man and a tanker, shouted for everyone to return to their stations. The dozen people from the Lunpin Caravan Company stopped their idle chatter and returned to their stations. There were few caravan companies capable of traversing through the wilderness as there were many initial investments and planning required. A caravan with one 16-passengers carriage required a tanker, a healer, a scout, and at least 3 warriors. That left only 10 spaces available for the passengers. Not including the horses and carriages, hiring the caravan party cost 1 gold pieces per day. To make a decent profit, caravan companies had to charge the passengers at least 15 silver pieces per day. Bigger caravan parties could afford to charge 10 silvers per passenger. This was because they have VIP carriages that cost 50 silver pieces per day. Only nobility and wealthy merchants could afford such luxury. Nico was by no means short of money. He was considerably wealthy compared to the vast majority of people in Rinlin. However, he had a stingy mindset when it came to spending money on luxury items. Several of the villagers came to bid him goodbye. "I don''t know what they sell in Launtel, but I make the best pickles in Rinlin," said Shirley. "Make sure to write if you have time. I''ll send to you the progress of the shop. Hopefully the renovation will be completed before you come back." "Kanna have to keep a watch on the shop, but she wish you a safe journey," said Lorne. "She isn''t good with cooking, but she makes good jams." "These are the best tea in the empire, so keep it safe," said Chamber with his wife Sasha by the side. "If you ever meet an honorable guests, these are sure to impress them." "I don''t really have anything for you kid, but stay safe." Rooster rustled Nico''s hair. "Thank you everyone, I''ll come back after school ends!" Nico headed inside the covered carriage. It was cramped, even when there were still two more vacant spaces available. There were more adolescents than adults. Considering that the final destination was Launtel, they were likely students or hopefuls of Windel Academy. They were well-dressed and most likely from the upper class families. Most people in the carriage were not from Rinlin, but Nico recognized a 8-years old boy named Yuri and his father, a wealthy merchant named Easton. Nico wasn''t too familiar with them, but the father and son recognized him. Yuri waved cheerily and Easton gave him a little nod. It was comforting to see a familiar face amongst strangers. Nico seated himself by the father and son duo. The carriage took off shortly . "I didn''t know you''re heading to the Windel Academy as well," chatted Easton. "If I had known, I would have asked you to bring Yuri along." After extensive training, Nico could be mistaken as a fifteen-years old adolescent. Fourteen was considered the age of adulthood. At that age, it wasn''t unusual for them to travel alone without their guardians. Easton had bought one manadeer hide from Nico before and heard that he was a decent hunter. Although he didn''t know Nico too well, he was willing to trust someone from the same village. "Nico''s going to take the exam as well?" asked Yuri. "Yep!" Nico replied. Rooster had prepared him briefly on the exam requirements. "It sounds exciting," Yuri chimed. Yuri was only eight, so he had yet to understand the importance of the test. Easton looked more nervous than the little boy. Easton had spent a lot of money preparing his son to take the entrance exam. Easton had been told by a passing relative that Yuri had a spiritual root and should try out for the academy. Although Easton made good money living as a merchant, there were fame, prestige and wealth associated with cultivators and magicians that were beyond anything a regular merchant could earn in their lifetime. Easton had 4 children, but he doted on his youngest Yuri the most because of his potential. Easton spent 100 gold pieces to get two recommendations from the teachers at the Academy. Easton had drilled the importance of the test to Yuri, but he also didn''t want to overburden the young child. "Can I pet your doggy?" asked Yuri. "Sure!" Nico brought the cubs into the village often so that they could get use to people. Nico passed Snowy onto Yuri''s lap. Both the small cubs could easily pass as dogs to most people. The passengers chatted amongst themselves. There was a rather quiet tall man sitting at the rear with a Lunpin Caravan crest stitched on his left arm. He was in charge of protecting the carriage. The caravan made a quick stop by Caperon to pick up two more passengers before setting further west. Before nightfall, they reached a village of Paragin to set up camp. The two VIP carriages in the center continued into the village and headed toward the inn. The caravan company allowed the passengers to sleep in the carriages or find an inn. Some passengers chose to spend money for a good night rest at the inn, while others chose to stay. The caravan party stayed mostly with the carriages. They set up camp and relaxed around the campfire. "Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be inspired by the amazing Ringo!" Introduced Cory, a medium build man with a knife by his hip. He was one of the warriors protecting the caravan. Ringo, the tallest and biggest man towering close to 205cm, jumped out from behind a tree. Dressed in a flamboyant bard costume, he strummed the long wooden banjo and bellowed out "lalala" to clear his throat. The caravan party and remaining passengers all cheered wildly, some more expressive and exaggerated than the others. "Whoo! Ringo is going to perform us a song!" Cheered Zulu, one of the rowdy members of the caravan. He didn''t have his bow and arrow, but he was an archer that often lead the party with Lennox. "Now, for the main attraction!" Cried Cory. "Introducing the ever graceful and beautiful Estella!" Estella, the magician of the group, walked out gracefully from behind the tree. Her face, dabbled in make-up and flowing fizzy white hair, dazzled the audience. The caravan was a mixture of laughter, howling and whistling. As for Nico, he could never imagine the tall straight laced man riding in the same carriage could transform into a beauty drag queen at night. Easton choked from laughter. Yuri was confused since he couldn''t recognize the man. Lennox and Juniper shrugged, they were used to it. Estella, or Estel in drag, dramatically silenced the crowd with a forceful hand movement. Once he had the crowd''s attention, he signaled Ringo to strum a melody on the banjo. "Many, many years ago, there were two siblings," Estella began to narrate. "Twins, in fact. Harold was the elder and Anzu was the younger. Separated by a mere hour, but it was Harold who was destined to rule the Empire of Kinbarl. A prophecy predicted that the younger would create chaos in the kingdom. Fearful that the younger would fight for position, the current emperor, Leroy, ordered the child and all the midwives who had known about the second child to be disposed of. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Harold turned into an exceptional crowned prince, a genius cultivator and a handsome charmer. All who knew him admired him. He was given Princess Lizbeth of the Terlace Tribe as his future Queen. She was known as the most beautiful and fairest maid of the land. As for Harold knew up, he had a chance encounter with Anzu, an orphan boy who with lived in the streets most of his life. The boys could see their faces mirrored from each other. Although they did not understand, they were amazed to find another person with the same face. They came up with a plan to switch for a week. Harold lived without any responsibilities and worries, and Anzu lived in luxury. Before they could make the switch back, Emperor Leroy was assassinated. The kingdom was thrown into chaos and Anzu, still posing as Harold, was carried off by the royal guards. All the officials wanted to immediately crown Harold as the next emperor to stabilize the kingdom. During the coronation ceremony, Harold rushed back to see Anzu. Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think happened next?" Strum, dum, dum. The audience yelled out many possible outcomes. If they were Anzu, they would keep the position as king. "Anzu asked Harold a simple question." Estella continued. "Between the Empire of Kinbarl and Princess Lizbeth, who shalt ye pick? Harold said Princess Lizbeth without hesitation. Unfortunately, that was who Anzu had wanted as well." Nico thought it was a horrible melodrama, but apparently it was partially based on the history of the Kelseran empire when it was part of a super-empire called Kinbarl 600 years ago. A single woman had caused the fall of an entire empire, sort of like Helen of Troy. In oral traditions, he wondered how much of it was factual. At sunrise, the caravan was back in business and a lot more serious than before. The next stretch of travel was through Mydar Valley. It was hilly and difficult to travel. Zulu sat in the front carriage by the rider. He was very cautious of the terrain. "Anything unusual?" Asked Lennox pacing his horse to match the carriage speed. "Nothing as of yet, but it''s still early," replied Zulu. Lennox nodded and went to the other members to check on their status. Everything was in order. They continued on their journey until it was almost nightfall. The second night was in the flat plains rather than a village. It was dangerous to camp in the wilderness, but they had little choice. The plains provided the safest vantage point. If there were any incoming attacks, they could still prepare a defensive formation. Unlike the night before, all the members of the caravan were on guard and took turns to keep watch. Most passengers were already asleep inside the carriage. Nico opened his eyes and glanced outside. The moon was partially out and he could hear the firepit crackling outside. He got up slowly and crawled to the rear of the carriage. He peeked outside, to the right was the campfire and to the left was an open field with hills jutting out from the background. Estel glanced at Nico as though he was asking him where he was going. "Can I take a leak?" asked Nico. Just do it on the side, Estel replied by moving his head toward the side of the carriage. Is he pretending to be mute? Nico thought. He was talking so much yesterday. Nico jumped out and went to the left side of the carriage. While taking care of business, he watched the hills carefully. "Ahh!!!" Nico let a piercing scream from the depth of his lung. Estel snapped his head to glance at Nico. What the hell is wrong with you?! asked Estel with his strong glare. "Snake!" cried Nico. Estel shook his head in annoyance, but then snapped his head toward the distance hill. Lennox also surveyed the direction of the scream and called the caravan members to prepare for combat. The caravan members who were awake straddled on the horses. The sleeping members quickly geared up right after they heard the scream, protocol requires them to remain guard as the defensive unit. Ringo and Juniper, the tankers, naturally took position in front of the carriages. "Cory, you''re in charge of the defensive here!" Lennox commanded. "The five of us will survey the front." Lennox, Zulu, Estel and two other members on horseback rushed into the hills. From atop the hill, Lennox surveyed a group of two dozen bandits already fleeing into the distance. He signaled them to shoot. Zulu was the only archer, but the other two warriors and Estel had also bought bows with them. Against a fleeing enemy, bows were the best choice of weapon. They shot down three that had been falling behind. After the bandit dispersed, the camp remained on high alert. The three bandits were comprehended. One was shot dead. Nico saw the body of the dead bandit with an arrowhead sticking out from his chest. The arrow had penetrated through from the back while the bandit was running off. It was a bit surreal. It wasn''t Nico first time seeing a dead body. He had been to wakes and funerals, but seeing a fresh human body that he was partially responsible for was disheartening. Was he capable of penetrating a spear into a human''s heart as easily as he had through a manabeast? When Nico first heard of the movement coming toward the camp, he initially wanted to resolve the situation himself. However, the movement were from 2-legged creatures, which meant that they were likely humans. He hesitated to confront the enemy. Maybe he would have to face them in the future, but now wasn''t the right time. Also, humans were a lot trickier than manabeasts, Nico wasn''t sure if he could handle them all himself. Lennox ordered the passengers to return to the carriage, and Nico complied. "Are the perimeter secured?" Lennox asked Zulu. Zulu nodded. "Sorry about that boss, I should have done a perimeter check again," Zulu added. "It''s fine, we can''t perform a check every hour," said Lennox. "Did Ringo interrogate the bandits?" Zulu nodded. "It''s the Nightcrawl bandits. They''re not a big bandit brigade, but they are known to be organized and swift. We''re lucky the boy scream scared them off." "Haha, that''s one hell of a coincidence," Cory chuckled. "It was also timely," said Zulu. "The bandits were just splitting off, but before they could even enclose the camp, they were already thrown into chaos. The three that we caught happened to be the ones leading the entrapment." "We should be getting a reward from the Hunter Guild for the three bounty heads once we arrive in Launtel," said Cory feeling excited about a bonus. The following day, the caravan reached their destination. The caravan pulled by the main gated entrance and unloaded the passengers. Nico jumped out and noticed Estel by the side. Estel nodded his head as Nico looked at him, whether it was a goodbye or a thank you, Nico wasn''t sure. Nico waved back and trotted toward the gate. Launtel was a beautiful city similar to Bologna architecture with its beautiful sunkissed stucco and colonnades. The market streets of Rinlin was the most lively place in the village, but the entrance of Launtel, with road twice the width of Rinlin''s main roads, was already bustling with activity. Nico couldn''t imagine how crowded the market streets were. Snowy was excited to see the city and jumped around to explore more. She weaved through the human foot traffic. Junior was more timid and stayed close to Nico. Yuri had similar reaction to Junior, and stuck close to his father. "Nico, we''re going to head toward the Icana Inn," said Easton. "If you need any help, feel free to stop by." Everyone was tired from the lack of sleep the night before and headed to the inn for a good night rest in a comfortable bed. Easton then took off with Yuri while Nico continued to explore the city. Launtel City Nico arrived in front of Windel Plaza, the public ceremonial court of Windel Academy. There were dozens of registration booths set up for the Windel Academy Entrance Exam. From the booth, the male clerk requested his recommendation letters or exam token. Nico turned in his letters, and the male clerk scanned the seal with a crystal shard. Afterward, the clerk asked Nico for his identification papers. Once the paperwork was completed, the clerk gave Nico a numbered token, #8425, with the Academy insignia. Nico scurried out of the way for an impatient mother and her young child waiting from behind. He headed outside the city, hoping to train. Near the western gate, Nico scoured the surrounding area for a vacant spot to camp at night. Just as he found a good site, a party of 4 scrambled in and started to set up camp. Eh!? I was here first... Nico walked a little further out. He found a vacant clearing between two trees. Just as he approached the site, a party of 6 staked their tents. Damn it!!! Nico threw in his towel and headed back into the city. The people of Launtel were very different from the people of Rinlin. They were more fearless and willing to go outside into the wilderness. There were many camps set up outside the city safe zone just for the opportunity to encounter manabeasts. Nico best option left was to search for an inn. Nico wasn''t familiar with the area, so he didn''t want to travel too far away from the city. Also, he had enough money. He stumbled upon Killo Restaurant Inn. It was close to the academy, but a bit expensive for him. Nico liked the smell of the food, and decided to stop by for dinner. Most of the tables and seats were taken, except for a few spots in front of the counter area. Nico took a seat and eyed the simple menu board above the open kitchen. "What would you like to order kid?" Asked a bearded man handling several sauteing pans from behind the counter. The man, who introduced himself as Busho, had one assistant helping with the flame and two sous chefs chopping onions and preparing side dishes. "Just water is fine," Nico requested. "Any specials for today?" "Today special is braised neck-bone stew," Busho responded. "Yum! Sounds good, can you get me an order?" "Sure!" He initiated another fire for the order, and went back to finish the other food he was already preparing. "It also goes well with a nice light spring squash broth." The young pretty waitress added. "Hello, my name is Lulu, here''s your water." Lulu tilted the ceramic water pitcher and filled Nico''s cup with water. "Me too, Lulu!" a voice demanded. Nico teetered to the left by the unexpected voice. He was sure the seat next to him was emptied a moment ago. He stared at the elderly man now sitting to his right, riddled with winkles and dark spots. The elderly man felt a bit self-conscious. "Whaattt? You have never seen a beautiful face like this before?" He barked. "Mumu, don''t cause trouble with my customers." Busho warned with his kitchen knife. "What are you having today?" "The special!" The elderly man Mumu shouted back his order. At that moment, three men walked into the restaurant and stared at the couple eating by the entrance corner. The men signaled the couple to leave. The couple paid the tab and left without any discussion. The three men took their seats. "That damn Gafney took away our job again!" shouted one of the bigger men with an anchor tattoo on his face. Some restaurant patrons glanced at the men, but quickly returned to eating their food. "Don''t remind me Tanner," said a skinny man with an anchor tattoo on his left arm. The man looked at a buff man sitting next to him. "Boss, what are we going to do next? We haven''t completed any missions in two weeks." The buff man with a gold plated tooth spitted next to him. "Let me see if Gafney can continue the current mission," said the Boss. People in the area called him Ivan. "Retrieving a stolen cargo from the Red League Bandit isn''t going to be simple. If anythingˇ­ Skinner, talk to our friends at Garber tavern about this." Skinner, the skinny man, immediately knew what Ivan was talking about. He then laughed. "Yes boss! Excellent idea!" "What? What idea?" Asked Tanner who was clearly lost in the conversation. "Never mind Tanner!" Ivan pounded on the table. "Waitress!! What''s with the wait, we''re here to order!" They were barely there for two minutes and already complaining. Lulu saw her mom, Innes, in the middle of an order, and rushed over to greet the three men. "Hello, my name is Lulu, how may I take your order?" she asked meekly. Tanner made his order. Skinner ordered for himself and Ivan, who was ogling Lulu. "Yes sir, we''ll be out with the order quickly," she eked out as politely as possible trying to hide her discomfort. The group of three were rowdy into the late evening, ordering more wine bottles. The patrons started to retire, and Lulu and Innes cleared the tables. "Busho! A good stew you have there," Mumu stated as he finished. "For someone of little talent, you''re already on par with Jantilo Restaurant." Busho didn''t know if that was a compliment or insult, but Mumu was already heading out. "See you again Mumu!" Busho yelled out. "Don''t come again unless you plan to pay!" Nico had also finished his meal, but he didn''t want to leave. "Come on Chef, what''s in the secret sauce?" pleaded Nico. "You can''t get the tanginess of the honey unless you add lemon zest. But there''s another note of spiciness that isn''t chili or pepper. I can''t figure out that one ingredient." Busho laughed at the eagerness of this patron. He often encountered mamas and Mumus who wanted his recipe, but very few boys were interested in cooking. The boy was lively, and a bit unusual. He had two silver wolves strapped to his chest. Busho was one of the rare restaurant owners who allowed pets in his restaurant as long as they were leashed. "You''re a chef yourself?" asked Busho. "No, but I like to eat well," said Nico. "I can''t tell you the family secret recipe sauce, but you''re always welcome to order the special." Busho was good with faces and could remember everyone who had eaten in his restaurant. Nico was a new face. "You''re here for the Windel Academy exam?" Nico nodded. "I''ve just arrived." "It''s going to be tough at your age," said Busho. "Have you tested out before?" "Nah, it''s going to be my first time. This old man recommended it to me. He was concerned the empire might draft me up, and told me to either join the academy or join the military. I really didn''t have an option." Busho had heard about the rumored draft, as it was partially why there was a spike in people applying to join the academy. Although, not everyone could join the academy just because they wanted to. "Ooh, but I heard the Academy students get special privileges," said Nico. "What exactly are those?" "Students get protection from the Academy," said Busho. "That''s the number one privilege. To go against the students is like going against the entire Academy. The second privilege is priority in selecting missions from different guilds. And the last privilege is discounts from LaRue Auction House, who has outposts all over the continent." Just as Nico was about to make a comment, he saw Busho glaring at the group of three men. Ivan grabbed Lulu''s wrist, and she tried to yank away. "Please mister, let me go!" Lulu pleaded. Busho quickly gripped his butcher knife and prepared to hurl it. "Hey!" he screamed. "Release her now! Or this knife will be sticking out of ya!" Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The three rough looking men laughed as if it was the funniest comedic show they had ever seen. They were clearly drunk. Ivan, with Lulu still captured by left hand, slammed his right hand down. The table split apart, shattering bits and pieces all over the floor. "Come on old man, this lass is lucky to catch the eye of our boss!" said Skinner. "We are just going to take her for one night." "Another word out of you and I''ll cook your tongue in acid!" Busho barked angrily at the three, but his palms were sweaty from anxiety. He knew his strength wasn''t going to be enough. Ivan got up from his seat and dragged Lulu to him. She screamed and kicked, but he seemed oblivious to them. The spectators peeked in from the front of the restaurant to see the commotion, but no one reacted or helped. To them, this wasn''t something they could stop. The three men were clearly from a gang and dangerous. They pitied the girl, but events like this happen everyday, why should they risk their own life? Maybe a young hero will come to save the damsel, but it wasn''t going to be them. "Dear, do something!" Innes panicked as the three ruffians were about to leave with Lulu. Busho threw his butcher knife, but the knife dislodged inside a table that Tanner had tugged from the side. "Ha! Slow," Tanner taunted. All of the sudden, a table leg smashed into Tanner''s back skull and he tumbled forward. Skinner was already smashed into the wall. Ivan saw the incoming attack from a patron boy. The table leg path was heading toward his elbow. Ivan released Lulu and quickly backed away from the impact. Ivan watched the swinging movement of the table leg, and carefully avoided the splintered edge. Nico swung the table leg back up. Ivan saw the boy swinging wide and rotated his head to observe the table leg. It moved too high out of range, he grinned. Stupid boy. Before Ivan could counter, the boy abandoned the table leg, turned to re-position his body and punched Ivan directly into his stomach. Ivan''s body flew out into the streets and collided into the paved road. He angrily pulled himself up and prepared for an attack. "How dare you mess with the Fishman''s Gang!" Ivan roared. S***! He''s still awake after that hit, Nico scrambled to think of something. "I dare you to say that again to the Academy," said Nico flashing a badge. "Now leave before I burn all your hair." Nico took out a Red Flame Talisman and pointed it at Ivan. Ivan didn''t get a good look at the badge, but he had seen a Red Flame Talisman before. He could tell that it was real. Very few people carry talisman, only magicians and cultivators have them. Ivan was about to scramble off, but Nico instructed him to carry both his minions away. The small crowd of people clapped at the heroic effort of the young hero. They really didn''t expect anyone to help out, and although they felt ashamed for not being capable, they will always cheer for the good guy. "Ah, it was nothing much!" Nico thanked the crowd. "Thank you." Lulu smiled warmly at Nico and hugged Nico lightly, making sure the cubs weren''t sandwiched in between. She was still a little shaky. "Thanks kid, what''s your name again?" asked Busho. "Nico. And it''s not a problem, just helping out." "Well, you''ve just arrived? Do you need a place to stay?" asked Innes coming out with a broom. "Why don''t you say with us until the exam." There were still seven days left before the exam week. Nico glowed. "That would be great!" "All right, it''s settled then," said Busho. "Let me help you out a bit," Nico took an extra broom and helped the family cleared up the mess. Later that night, Nico followed Innes to his room on the second floor. The room was one of the simple guest rooms. It had dark wooden bed, dresser, desk and chair. He didn''t bring much to Launtel, so it was perfect for him. Nico unwrapped the manaherbs and re-potted them by the window. The manaherbs were mostly clippings from the manaherbs with the most symbols. He left most manaherbs at the farm, but he took the ones that he wanted to feed directly with the lifeless water. Nico unpacked some of the talismans he had made and a journal. The journal recorded his observations regarding Shadow symbols, the symbols he could see through Minko''s vision. They were the basis of talismans. He had experimented with different combinations of Shadow symbols while he was still in Rinlin. He noted down that if he altered the amount recommended by the system, the flame talisman would be weaker. Changing the order of the Shadow symbols caused the talisman to fail completely. Persona symbols were basically the language of the system, and the language used on the face of every talisman. It was strange that he could understand and read the Persona symbols, but he couldn''t come up with one until it was revealed to him. He knew two talisman Persona symbols, one was Red Flame and the second was Tri-color Flame. He wanted to create a new talisman based on the Persona symbols. In theory, it was possible to create as talisman as long as he know the Persona symbols, and the correct combination of shadow symbols. Most of the word modifiers he had experimented with came from the recipes description, such as the mystic purple flame from the enhancement inscription, green light flame from the healing balm, and blue crimson flame from the firehouse steak. He spent most of his time testing out "light" Flame Persona. There were many possible combinations with shadow symbols of multiple characters. If he limited the characters, it may be easier to test. He used the various light symbols that he knew and tested them in different order with the base flame talisman symbols. Before arriving to Rinlin, he had successfully formed the Light Flame Talisman, but it was only after a month of experimentation. Unlike Rinlin, Launtel had many shops that sold mana objects, especially the Fenrir Shop. The Fenrir Shop displayed 32 variety of level 1 talismans, characterized by a single character symbol. There were few level 2 talismans, but they were expensive. Nico studied the visible Persona symbols written on them. Studying the Persona symbols filled in the majority of missing Personas Nico had not learned. He noticed that the ugly looking Red Flame Talisman was labelled "Fiery Firebolt" Talisman. The rivaling Camber Shop called it the "Super Firebolt" Talisman. Nico was sure these were named for marketing purposes. From the talismans on display, he learned the Personas symbols for Rain, Lightning, Earth, Light, and Darkness. He had already learned Flame and Gale. He also learned the different color modifiers; white, black, yellow, orange, and purple. Nico took one of each talisman in order to examine the shadow symbols, and one "Booster Strength" Pill, which could add strength for 48 hours. Although Nico could see shadow symbols embedded in talismans, he did not know the correct order unless he used and analyzed them with Minko''s vision. Fenrir Shop was always busy, so Nico waited in line for his turn. He smiled, it reminded him oddly of home, waiting in line at the grocery market. When it was Nico''s turn, he asked if they could trade. Nico took out 37 Red Flame Talismans. The manager looked through Nico pile of talismans, scanned the authenticity with a scale and then agreed to the trade. All level 1 talismans were roughly the same price, but the Red Flame were more useful and more expensive than other level 1 talismans. The manager also agreed to five talismans for one level 1 Pill. Within a week, he had replicated 32 different talismans, but not without failure. Nico attributed the failure to the Persona symbols being inaccurate. He didn''t know the exact lines of the Persona symbols, but as he reformed the symbols on paper, he was able to see when the lines were written correctly. The Dreaded Entrance Exam In the northwestern area of Launtel was ten acres of land owned by the Windel Academy. The land included area within the city and area in the wilderness. Within the city safe zone was the main campus, which included academic buildings and dormitories. The gated archway of the Academy were raised up by 77 steps and heavily secured by magical barriers and guards. It stood before a large ceremonial courtyard that could comfortably accommodate 30,000 spectators. On a typical day, the courtyard was regularly used by merchants and vendors. However, weeks before the start of a new semester, the courtyard was used as the exam location. "Is everything prepared for the examination week?" inquired Vice Dean Araba, a stern man wearing a black robe, skimming through a pile of paperwork. The three department heads appointed by the Academic, Cultivation and Magic Branch made their report and proposals before the Vice Dean of Examination Division. To create a fair environment, the exams were different every year. The Windel Academy accepted students from seven to thirty years of age. "We are expecting another record number of applicants this year," said Department Head Ren, a soft spoken elderly man from the Academic Branch. "Likely over 15,000, from all over the continent." Vice Dean Araba nodded. "Is 6 days going to be enough to test everyone?" The department heads nodded. "Most applicants are from the age of seven to nine. There are very few who are older, so the range of exams won''t be too wide." "All right, we will proceed with the plan," Vice Dean Araba nodded. "Is there anyone in particular we need to make accommodations for?" Aside from creating exams, the Examination Division was also in charge of accommodating special enrollment applicants. Although the Academy was a separate entity from the Empires, they still had to maintain a good relationship with the Kelseran Empire, its neighboring empires and the royalties. "The 2nd prince, Taishen, of the Totuman Empire and the Kelseran Empire sent the 7th Princess, Reina," said Department Head Grist, a relaxed middle age man with thick mustache. "There are four other princes and princesses. We have allowed them to have one servant and two additional bodyguards." Vice Dean Araba nodded. "Lady Tessa, is there any particular students your branch is considering?" "We have our eyes on a couple," remarked an elderly lady of high bearing. Tight-lipped as usual, Vice Dean Araba thought. Taking the proposals, Vice Dean Araba set the logistics for the examination. Pre-registration had started a month ago and they were still receiving more applicants. The first day of the exam was the last day of registration. A week later, the courtyard was all set up for the exam. According to the registration clerk, Nico was arranged to start the test on day 2 based on the token number. Token number 1 to 5,500 had to report on day 1, token number 5,501 to 11,000 on day 2, and token number 11,000 to 15,987 on day 4. Nico token number was 8425, so he arrived on day 2. Nico walked to the back of a line, one out of more than 150 lines, near the right side of the courtyard. They were divided up by age group. Nico was one of the older applicants and therefore, placed toward the right. There were around 100 students his age, and only a dozen who looked older. Nico was too far in the back of the line to see what was going on in front, but he noticed many professors standing atop the ceremonial steps to watch the results. The majority of the professors wore purple robes. The Spirit Orb test was the most basic test, but it was the most important one. Many professors used the result as the basis for taking in students. "The Spirit Orb measures a person Spiritual Root, meridian, and aura," a voice explained. "The spiritual root determines the person overall strength. The number of meridians determines the speed of the person''s cultivation. The number of auras determines the speed of a person''s magic. As you approach the Spirit Orb, simply place your hand over the orb." The students slowly shuffled up the lines to take the test. "Water root 2, meridian 1, aura 1," said a proctor examining a water droplet and numbers emerging from the orb. "Average." The applicants with below average grades paled and lowered their heads in shame. Average grades were not acceptable, and the applicants were required to turn in their numbered tokens. "Knife root 2, meridian 2, aura 1," said a proctor. "Hm.. You have a good chance at cultivation." "Sparrow root 2, meridian 1, aura 2. Good as a magician." "Wind root 3, meridian 1, aura 2. Very good." "Pole root 3, meridian 2, aura 2. Great." For the majority of the day, the test was uneventful. "Today isn''t as good as yesterday," remarked one of the professors. "Prince Taishen has the Azure Lightning root 5, meridian 2, and aura 2 with an excellent grade." "Theo of the Deraon Clan has the Pinnacle Sword root level 3, meridian 4, and aura 1 with also an excellent grade. That is a bit more focused and useful," commented a professor from the Cultivation Branch. "Alina of the Iced Palace may be the most talented," said a professor from the Magic Branch. "Crystal Snow root level 4, meridian 1, aura 4, an excellent grade." "That is to be expected, most of the royalties and clan members were tested on the first day." Most, but not all. When a little girl with purple eyes and yellow dress approached the spirit orb, many professors unconsciously followed their eyes. Princess Reina was said to be a talented child since birth. As everyone turned their attention to the little seven years old girl, she looked unafraid of the attention.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The girl placed her hands over the orb, and waited. Golden rays of light and blazing fire appeared with 6, 3, and 4. "Sunlight Fire 6, meridian 3 and aura 4, genius," said the proctor. All the professors grasped in unison. That was a crazy amount of number for a seven years old child. It was going to be a war between the professors to take her in as their students. Nico watched as the line shortened. There were very few unexpected results. When there was, he could hear the excitement from the professors and spectators. At first, very few people paid attention to the young 13-years old boy named Vincent, except for some of the young girls fawning from the sideline. Judging from his attire, the boy was a hunter and grew up from a poor family. There wasn''t much expectation for the boy. However, as the Spirit Orb reacted to his touch, an image of shining white tiger appeared. The proctor inspected the image. He was shocked to see a legendary white tiger from legend. "Heavenly white tiger 6, meridian 3, aura 3, ace," said the proctor. Although it wasn''t a genius level like Princess Reina, many professors were more impressed by Vincent. Princess Reina and many clan members grew up in a good environment and possessed many resources. Vincent had very little, but he was still capable of an excellent score. None of the professors could have imagined what sort of powerhouse Vincent could become with proper guidance and resources. "There''s going to be another war," commented the professor. "A heavenly white tiger is a top tier spirit root from the Kanon Clan. Is the boy related to them somehow?" The professors were unsure, but his name was on top of their recruitment list. Then it was finally Nico''s turn. Nico pulled up his status box to compare it with the Spirit Orb. Status: Manaroot: Chaos 6 Mananode: 1 Manaspirit: Midnight Koi 29 Strength: 42 FP: 23/23 Defense: 30 Speed: 30 Magic: 36 Mp: 72/72 Resistance: 32 Casting: 24 Nico placed his hands over the spirit orb and watched the smoke swirled inside. Too bad it wasn''t night time, Nico wanted to see the mechanism behind the spirit orb. The spirit orb blacked out. Damn, it''s a blackout, thought the proctor. Proctors had to memorize thousands of possible spiritual roots that had manifested throughout human civilization. Blackouts were one of the toughest to identify. It was difficult to distinguish darkness, shadows, dark oceans, and space. With shadows, there were slight movement, dark oceans had ripples, and space had tiny speckles of light, so it wasn''t likely to be those. It could be a chaotic root if the levels are high. The numbers appeared in glowing light against the dark background. The proctor was relieved to see a high number. "Chaotic root 6, meridian 1, aura 1, good," said the proctor. A few professors from the Cultivation Branch glanced over at Nico. "Professor Clemson, it''s a Chaotic spiritual root, his meridian and aura are both low, but it could be compensated for," observed Professor Quin. "Chaotic roots are not unusual, but we are missing damage dealers on our team," remarked Professor Clemson. "Keep an eye out for him during the Boulder of Bastiles test." There was a sub-warrior class that revolved around the chaotic spiritual roots called the berserkers. After the test, Nico returned to the inn. On the 4th day, Nico and all the applicants with the numbered tokens returned to the plaza. Only 2,160 students remained after the 3-days Spirit Orb test. Nico noticed Yuri waiting in the far left. From what he had heard from Easton, Yuri made it through with a Hound root 1, meridian 2 and aura 2 and a good grade. Nico was standing in a row with seven other boys and one girl, ranging from 12-15. Their row was the shortest and they were a good head taller than everyone else taking the test. "Man, I can''t believe I have made this far," said a 15-years old boy. He was very skinny, but his posture was sturdy. "Xavier is the name." Everyone in the row introduced themselves-- Marcus, Vincent, Datan, Rory, Garret, Jack, and Anya. Vincent and Jack wore ordinary linen clothes and were likely from lower class families. Everyone else dressed well, most likely children of low ranking officials and upper class families. Nico himself was wearing a nice navy cotton tunic that resembled a t-shirt, but it could easily be mistaken as lower class garment. Since they were all older than 12, they all had working experience. "I work as a clerk for my grandfather, he is the town judge," said Anya, an out-spoken and tall girl. She gazed curiously at Vincent, who was tall, fit and very attractive for a boy of 13. "What do you do?" "I''m an apprentice blacksmith," Vincent replied. "No wonder you look so fit," Jack remarked, he was of medium height and while not as fit as Vincent, was toned. "I work in a ranch." "Whoa, Jack, you work on a farm too?" Asked Nico. "A ranch, it''s slightly different from a farm," said Jack. "I take care of horses." After some discussion, one of the boys remembered something and gawked at Vincent. "Ah, I remember you! You''re the ace from day four," said Datan, the slightly talkative boy pointing at Vincent. Vincent shrugged awkwardly. Everyone stared at Vincent in amazement, they had all heard rumors about the ace from day four. Nico laughed and patted Datan on the back. "Does a prosecutor''s son have a habit of pointing?" asked Nico. "He''s not on trial or anything." Datan realized his social gaffe and cleared his throat. "Uh... So what is the next test going to be?" asked Datan. "Most likely a physical test," said Xavier, from a family of scholars. "Do you see the giant boulders near the ceremonial stairs? They are the Boulder of Bastiles, commonly used to test physical strength." When everyone was in their correct rows, a voice explained the test, it was similar to Xavier''s explanation. The proctor called the first in line, Rory, up first and told him to punch the boulder as hard as possible. They each have three tries and the highest result would be recorded. They were told that it wouldn''t hurt, but Rory still hesitated to hit the boulder with his full strength. He didn''t want to bust his knuckles, so his first punch was weak. His fist lightly pounded into the boulder and left a dent. The dent disappeared as soon as he pulled back his punch. It was like an illusion. A number appeared on the boulder, 31. Rory tried harder on the second try, 45. On the last try, he got 59, which was the average for his age. Xavier was up next. His attacks were embarrassing, as bad as the younger children. His best was 53. Jack took position when it was his turn. His stance wasn''t traditional, but it looked natural and practiced. He did surprisingly well with 126, matching a lot of the excellent grade kids. Many professors watched as Vincent approached the Boulder of Bastiles. He positioned himself in front of the boulder. Nico observed that his stance was slightly awkward. He was untrained, but his posture was similar to a street brawler. His first punch landed, 190. His second punch, 251. "What''s the highest recorded punch for the Boulder of Bastiles during an exam?" asked Department Head Grist. "635," said the assistant. "But the applicant at that time was 22 years old, and a very experienced warrior. For his age group, 328." Vincent summoned all his strength for the last punch. His left foot stepped forward, and he prepared enough momentum to strike. He pounded into the boulder. Boom! A new number appeared. 333. "That boy is already utilizing spirit force," Department Head Grist noted. "It won''t be long before he becomes a cultivator." "Yes, but Lady Tessa and the Magic Branch are also eyeing him," said the assistant. "We can let them have Princess Reina, but we can''t let them take this boy," said Department Head Grist. Datan was up next, but Vincent was a tough act to follow. He managed to get 61. The proctor called Nico up to the boulder. Nico approached the boulder and positioned his body to prepare a jab. He inhaled and then jabbed at the boulder, 156. Well, that wasn''t too bad, he thought. Nico returned to his punch stance and punched again. 155. "Okay, I think I got the hang of it," Nico said to the proctor, who stared blankly back at Nico in response. Nico stretched his neck and cracked his knuckles. He returned to the punch stance, but this time, he concentrated. Results 232. "He''s definitely a pure berserker type." Professor Clemson commented. "He''s using spirit force and have very good form, most likely some military training. It will be good to add him on the combat team." "I''ll add him on the list," said Professor Quin. Nico felt satisfied with the results and prepared to leave. Nico didn''t stay to watch the remaining test, it looked boring. He had little interest in watching children seven to eight years old flail at the boulders. He will hear about it later from everyone else if it was of any interest. On the fifth day of the test, Nico entered the courtyard, and gazed in awe at the rows and columns of tables and chairs evenly stretched throughout the courtyard. Once everyone was seated, a clear voice bellowed out the instructions to everyone. The students were given 7 hours to finish as many questions as possible. Nico wondered if the voice was created from a sound spell. It was interesting that such magic existed. Nico stared at a 4 cm thick stack of papers neatly centered on his desk. There must have been 100-sheets of parchment paper. If one multiple the amount of paper by 3,000 applicants, the Academy had to spend 30,000 gold pieces just on paper. Everyone scrambled as a bell signaled the start of the test. A giant hourglass rotated on top of the 77-steps and began trickled down sand. Within a minute, Nico could hear nothing but the scribbling of quill pens. Nico flipped open the first page of the test. "Who is the first Emperor of the Kelseran Empire?" Crap, history section was first. Out of 60 questions, he only knew one. "What was the name of the Empire that united the continent?" He scribbled in Kinbarl Empire. Everything else was left blank. The next sections were math, botany, anatomy, geology and physics. He was decent in college, but he was lost in between all the strange Kelseran symbols. By the time the hourglass emptied its sand, the proctors instructed everyone to stand up and leave. Nico felt mentally exhausted, and dragged himself up from his seat. He wasn''t the only one. Very few people could walk away from the paper exam feeling well. The last day was just as bad, maybe even worse. It was another paper exam. There were questions on spritology, venefitology, herbology, mineralogy, sigillogy, elementology, and beastology. He had never heard of any of these terms except for herbology. **** Inside a large meeting room, Vice Dean Araba presided over the student selection process with the department heads. There were a total of 21 department heads, seven from the three branches of the Academy; Academic, Cultivation, and Magic Branch. However, only eleven attended. Attendance was not required, so most Academic Branch department heads declined to attend. Academic Branch could accept 100 students, but they were usually the last to make their selection. Selection meetings were useless to them. Only Department Head Ren from the Academic Branch was present as he was assigned to the Examination Division as a liaison. Five department heads from the cultivation branch and five department heads from the magic branch submitted their list of the selected applicants and alternates to the Vice Dean Araba. The selections were mostly based on the Spirit Orb test. There were very few chances for overlapping students. If there was an overlap, it was the student choice to select their branch of study. The alternate would take the place of the branch that was not selected. The two branches were allowed to accept 500 students. Vice Dean Araba reviewed the names on top of both their list. Fortunately, there weren''t too much overlap. Magic Branch 1. 7th Princess Reina Kelsera 6 3 4 2. Vincent of Renfield 5 3 3 3. Lord Sergo Reese 4 2 4 4. Lady Alina Pallen 4 1 4 5. Erik Vanhauser 4 2 3 Cultivation Branch 1. Vincent of Renfield 6 3 3 2. 7th Princess Reina Kelsera 6 3 4 3. Theo Deraon 3 4 1 4. Maylin Anbio 4 3 1 5. 2nd Prince Taishen 5 2 2 Vice Dean Araba wondered about the secret deals the Branches were making to lure the top two students. The following day, the list was published on a large public bulletin in the front Windel Plaza. Any applicants whose name appeared on one of the three lists were ecstatic. Applicants on the alternate list were hopeful. Applicants, especially the parents, who couldn''t see their names were disappointed and angry. They protested loudly at the gated entrance, but to no avail. Others would either give up or try again next year. Every successive year was a reduced chance for admission. The applicants on both list were given three days to pick a branch of study. For Nico, it didn''t matter as he was only on the list for the cultivation Branch. Orientation began in seven days, so he had some time before he had to pack up. Nico returned to the Killo Restaurant Inn. "Hey Nico, how did you do!?" asked Busho, sauteing onions behind the counter. Innes, with pile-high dishes on both hands, paused mid way to hear Nico''s response. Lulu stopped wiping the table and also stared curiously at Nico. Nico looked dejected. The family of three frowned. "It''s all right, you can always come work for us," said Busho. "Everyone loves your chicken steak dish." "It''s unfortunate. I''m just sad because I have to move into the Academy dorm room next week," Nico responded. "Yeah, that''s too bad," Busho automatically responded, but he rewound Nico''s statement in his head. "Hey! Does that mean you''ve made it!?" He gave Busho two thumbs up and a big open smile. Busho laughed. "Rotten kid, you''re going to give me ulcers one of these days." Innes nodded proudly and carried on with work. "Congratulation Nico!" said Lulu. "Remember to stop by again when you''re famous." Nico laughed. "I thought I was already famous." Nico did cause a ruckus on the first day in Launtel, but he was hardly considered famous. "Okay, since this is going to be my last week, let me prepare something special for everyone," said Nico. "Ooh, Nico''s going to showcase another steak?!" Lulu clapped with excitement. Nico walked into the kitchen and unpacked some items from his leather bag. Nico had ordered a few items from the Jantilo Grocery Store. Nico placed the manabeef steak, managarlic, manabutter, manalemon, and salt on the counter. Nico shot the Blue Crimson Talisman into the logs. The bluish and brightly hued flame emerged from the earthen stove. Nico placed his hand inside to gauge the heat. When the temperature felt right, Nico added the butter. Then he melted butter, added the garlic and the two cuts of steak.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Following the scent, Mumu charged and hobbled into the restaurant like a madman. "Busho! Busho! That kid is cooking again!" Mumu rushed to the counter with fork and knife on both hands. "I''m waiting!" Nico let the steaks sat for two minutes on one side, two minutes on the other side. For the finishing touch, he drizzled the steaks with the manalemon and salt. The sous chef gave Nico two plates with steamed green beans and freshly mashed potatoes. Nico flipped both steaks onto the plates. Congratulation, Firehouse Steak Grade C Created. Unlock Beef Pastry variation. The first two plates were for Busho and Innes, but Innes willingly concede to let Mumu have her plate. Busho and Mumu both sliced into the steak. The knife easily glided through the flesh, which was crisped around the perimeter and pink in the center. Mumu drooled as the juices dripped out and seeped into the mash potatoes. The aroma quickly filled the entire room. If it was nighttime, Nico could probably see the shadow symbols spreading like smoke. Mumu slowly gathered the steak close to his mouth. As soon as the steak touched his lips, it was like a kiss from an angel above, delicious and beautiful. "Wow, that is amazing!" Busho pointed two thumbs up. "You outdid yourself Nico! "This is MORE than AMAZING!" Mumu were offended by Busho. "A gift from heaven like this is only received once in centuries!" Mumu turned back to look at Nico. "Tell-me-the-recipes!" "It''s only manabeef steak, managarlic, manabutter, manalemon and salt, that''s it." Nico stated flatly as he prepared another pan for Lulu and Innes. Mumu was speechless, he was eating a 10-gold pieces of steak, not including the cost of a level 2 talisman Nico had just used. "As expected of a future Academy student," Mumu nodded as though he knew what he was talking about. "But how are you going to cook for me in that DREADED place!?" "I can still stop by once a week," said Nico. "Not enough!" "Not that it should matter to you. You always eat and run. Why should I even cook for you!?" Nico had only cooked the chicken variety of the Firehouse Steak once for Mumu, but the elderly man didn''t even pay him for the manachicken. "Because no one can appreciate food as much as me," Mumu prettily sprang up from his seat. "It is an honor for food everywhere to see the light of my stomach." Mumu cleared his plate and ran off. Everyone shrugged it off, it was just another day of eat and run. **** On the first day of orientation, Nico gathered all of his belongings and walked toward the student entry, a ten-foot maroon gate on the southeastern corner of campus. The area outside were packed with students and their parents. Beyond the gates, only students and professors were permitted. The family said their goodbyes and the students entered the gateway. Once inside, Nico lined up to receive a new student identification badge, a blue uniform, a code of conduct booklet, a map of campus, and a school schedule. Nico walked out of the registration building and into the campus main courtyard. It was a breathtaking view of the main campus. Nico was going to be living here for the next semester. Like any incoming freshman student, there was a mixture of excitement and dread. Nico walked further east to the Nuccen intermediate dorm, the first starred location on his map. The Nuccen intermediate dorm housed all the 13-18 years old students and split in half by a courtyard between the two genders. In the male quarter, there were 200 rooms of quad, 100 doubles and 25 singles. Only top 10 rankers or royalties were allowed to have singles. The top 100 rankers were allowed doubles and everyone else had to share quads. Most of the Nuccen dorms ranking were decided by last year final exam ranking. On the first floor of the Nuccen dorm was the common area and cafeteria. After walking up the stairs, Nico approached a room located on the second floor. The dark blue door guarding the room had no key or knob. Instead, as Nico stood before the door, his student badge glowed. "Open," he said. The door opened. This is so cool, he gaped. The room was more spacious than he thought. The front vestibule was formed by two bathrooms. Beyond the small vestibule was a square room with four sets of bed, standing closet, and table on each corner. Nico walked inside and saw a boy with sandy brown hair unpacking on the left. "Ah, Jack!" Jack looked up. He was glad to see Nico, but he had a confused expression on his face. "Uh, ahˇ­ What''s your name again?" asked Jack. "Nico!" he replied. "Oh! Hey!" Nico scooped Snowy and Junior out from his front strap and introduced them to Jack. Jack also had a golden retriever, but he was in the balcony. Polar was a bit older than Snowy and Junior, but they treated Polar as an elder. The two lowered their heads to bow when they greeted Polar. Polar was a bit annoyed, he was only three years young! "Can''t believe we are sharing the same room!" Jack cried. "Did you just arrive? Who''s the other person?" Nico noticed that the bed on the near right was already occupied. "I got here a few minutes before you. Didn''t see the other person, was like that when I got here." Nico took the bed on the far right corner located next to the balcony. Nico placed his bag on the bed and began to unpack. Afterward, he checked out the bathroom. Plumbing existed in this world, but it was very expensive. Nico had seen wooden toilet seats before, but the wooden toilet from the Academy was different. The wood was nicely sanded and coated with white lacquer. They even have a wooden tub and a working shower. It almost felt like home. Once Nico finished his business, he saw a new face in the room. The young boy had light blond hair, blue eyes and facial features that were commonly seen in commercial ads. Although he was tall for his age, he wasn''t as tall as Jack and Nico. He wasn''t skinny, but he probably needed a sandwich, Nico thought. "Hi," the boy said curtly. "Oh, hi!" Nico responded. "My name is Nico." Nico saw Snowy already attaching herself to the pretty boy. "I see you have already met Snowy. The other one is Junior." "Ashe Hartlet," he responded. A clan member? Nico wondered. Clan members and royalties usually have last names. "You''re a Magic Branch student?" asked Nico. Ashe nodded. A moment later, the fourth roommate arrived. "Hello," a young handsome boy passed through the magical door. "Vincent!?" No one was expecting Vincent since he was ranked high in the exam and was eligible for the singles. "The dorm master said all the singles are taken," said Vincent. "Why didn''t to take the double?" asked Nico. Vincent scratched his cheeks in thought. "It''s a bit awkward with two people?" Nico and Jack glanced at each other, he was the awkward one. Vincent took the last bed, the one on the far left. Later that afternoon, they changed into their robe uniforms. Windel Academy robes were special in that they were imbued with magical properties. Nico and Vincent both had two stripes on their sleeves, which indicated mid-tier gathering stage. Jack had one stripe which indicated low-tier gathering stage. Ashe was the only one wearing a green robe with one stripe, indicating a low-tier condensation stage. Jack stared at the green robe with envy. The overall differences in quality between a blue robe and a green robe was glaring. "Is it glowing?" asked Jack. Vincent and Nico stared at the green robe, it was shimmery. Ashe glared at his new roommates. "Hurry up, we''re going to be late for the opening ceremony." Nico wished they had skipped it all together. It was long and tedious ceremony that was basically an oral presentation of the code of conduct. The following day, they went to their assigned instructors for a tour. Nico and Jack reported to Instructor Lingo of the Cultivation Branch. The tour began in the east wing by their dorm. Nico recognized most of the students from the exam week. Instructor Lingo, a sturdy man in his 20s, was in charge of the campus tour during Orientation week for the new incoming Cultivation Branch students. There were 31 students, age ranging from 10 to 15, all dressed in blue robe. "Everyone, get ready for some fun today!" Instructor Lingo hyped and flipped his red robe with some flair. Instructor Lingo took out a square stone and activated the stone. A beat of rhythm sounded out from the stone. "The east wing campus! Known as Nuccen!" Instructor Lingo bellowed out some tunes. "House the Elementary, Immediate, and High dorms!" Nico and the students stared at each other in bewilderment. "Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, live in the Nuccen Elementary Dorm. Known as Ned. Thirteen to eighteen years old, in Nuccen Immediate Dorm. Known as the Nid. Nineteen and older in the Nuccen High Dorm. Nuhi-hi." While singing out the song, Instructor Lingo ran off to the next destination. The students quickly followed. They ran to the registration hall, which faced the main courtyard. It was the point of entry and exit for all the students and professors. Around the main courtyard was also the General Library, Student Hall, Contribution Hall, Magic Hall, Cultivation Hall, and Academic Hall. There were connected by series of colonnades. The Contribution Hall was in the center, opposite of the ceremonial entry. It was where the Clock Tower was located. "Contribution Hall! Request missions. Exchange APs. Academy Point-ss to you." Running to the back of the Contribution Hall was a minor courtyard surrounded by the Administration Hall, Professor Hall, and Pendin Hall. Pendin Hall had a tower called the Testing Tower. They passed the front area of Professor''s Hall, in the background they could see the towering wilderness in the northwest. "Professor Hall. Grisham Rang-age. Ban for you!" Instructor Lingo continued his jingle. The last stop of the tour was back in the campus main courtyard where there were sign-up stations for the different clubs. There were various students wearing different colored robes walking around. The blue and green robes made up the majority of the population. Very few students wore red robes. "Snap back to reality, oh there check club-n-leave." Instructor Lingo ended his song for the tour. The students were running out of breathe from following Instructor Lingo around, and didn''t know how to react. Windel General Library Clap, clap. "That was great!" Nico shouted. He was sure Instructor Lingo was tone-deaf, but at least it was interesting. "Much better than the orientation ceremony." The other students followed and Instructor Lingo bowed to the audience. He then provided a last piece of serious advice before he ended the tour for the day. "Cultivalogy is the study of cultivation," Instructor Lingo explained. "It is the basis for every cultivator in the world. The purpose of cultivation is to increase the spirit root and body using meridians. We have the advantage over magicians in that our physical bodies are stronger. Cultivators focus on spiritology, the study of spirit force. It is the basis of cultivators'' attacks and techniques. Spirit force can be equally strong or stronger than magic. The key to unleashing spirit force is strong physical control and meditation. Magic, or technically Manatics, is a large branch of study that includes Symbology, Magicology, and Alchemy. Symbology is the study of mana that is found in nature, divided up into six main discourses. Magicology is the study of magic to increase the spirit root and auras. Alchemy is the practice of creating objects from mana. As students in the Cultivation Branch, you are not restricted to attend lectures from other branches. In fact, it is highly encouraged for you to attend Magic Branch lectures. You are only restricted from entering their Windel Magic Library. Likewise, they are restricted from entering the Windel Cultivation Library." Nico raised his hand. "Is there a reason why there is a restriction? Why can''t a person study both?" "A person can learn both, but it is not recommended," Instructor Lingo responded. Instructor skimmed through his student list and picked out a random name. "Take Julio for example. His shield spiritual root is level 3, has 2 meridians, and 1 aura. The spiritual root is like the spirit storage of the body. Without a spiritual root, there is no way to store the spirit inside the body. It is required for both cultivation and magic. Meridians allows your physical body to be enhanced and enable you to use spirit force. Auras allows your body to connect with mana in the outside world and cast spells. The more meridians and auras you can open, the faster the spiritual root will grow. Julio has 2 meridians open, this indicates that his nature is more physically inclined. His spirit root is also a weapon type, so it is easier and faster to guide him toward the cultivation path. In 3-6 years, with hard work, it is possible for him to achieve Condensation stage with Shield Spirit Level 10, 6 meridians, and 1 aura. However, if he study both cultivation and magic, it could take him 6-10 years to reach Condensation with Shield Spirit Level 10, 4 meridians, and 3 aura. There are very few geniuses that can handle training both branches. There are also scholars that still debate over the usefulness in the late stages. For example, is 50 meridian and 1 aura better than 26 meridians and 25 auras? There is no clear cut answer, as there are always advantages and disadvantages to all types of methods. Many academies adopt this style of teaching because it reduces the amount of students who are disillusioned by their own talent and end up wasting their real talent." The students nodded their heads as though they understood. "An-i-more quessstioooooons?" Crickets. Crickets. Nico raised his hands. "What are the cultivation stages?" "The cultivation stages go from gathering, condensation, foundation, knight, lord, king, and then emperor." Most everyone seemed to already know that except for Nico. "Is it the same with magicians?" "It''s similar in the beginning stages." "So gathering stage students wear blue, condensation stage students wear green, and foundation students wear red? What do knight stage wear?" "Once you become a knight stage cultivator, you become a graduate of the Academy." "I see." "All right, since there are no more questions. Feel free to look around the different clubs available," said Instructor Lingo. "Report to the Cultivation Branch Courtyard tomorrow before dawn." Jack and Nico walked around the different booths. There were drama clubs, music clubs, art clubs and so many different clubs that they couldn''t even begin to count. While they may seem like the average school clubs, not everyone have drama clubs that could create magical illusions. Music club members could play tunes that heal and artworks that seem to come alive. "Wow, these are amazing, can we learn these things in the clubs?" Nico asked the seniors. "Unfortunately, no, clubs are simply for students to perform and display their skills," replied the seniors. "We are not allowed to teach student." "That''s too bad..." Nico and Jack continued walking around. Jack eyes lit up when he saw a horse. "There''s a Ranch club!" He shouted excitedly. Jack wanted to touch the horse, but the senior classroom warned him. The manahorses weren''t as friendly to humans as regular horses.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "Too bad there aren''t manahorses in the Rinlin area. Do you know of any around the region?" The senior wasn''t too familiar with the Rinlin area and shook his head. "Some of the better horses are tamed from the west and southern region. I''m not sure about the quality in the eastern region. There might be some, but they are not as well known." Jack stayed at the Ranch Club while Nico continued browsing around the different displays. Nico wasn''t particularly interested in any clubs if he couldn''t learn from them. He was more interested in the Windel General Library. The General Library was a two-story building with many general knowledge books and was open to all the students. There were herbology books, mineralogy books and many academic books. The contents were not in depth, but they were more than what Nico had known. "Why do you think the Kuro symbol is a fire symbol?" the elderly man asked. Nico couldn''t say he intrinsically knew what the symbol meant. "Doesn''t lightning produce fire sometimes?" asked Nico. "I was wondering if one of these symbols represent fire." "Hmˇ­ You''re right," responded the man. "But it is interesting that you have labelled it right next to the Kuro symbol. There are many scholars that debate the classification of Kuro." "How do scholars know about these symbols anyway?" "Mainly through meditation. When you reach mid-Foundation stage, you will begin to feel the symbols. Knight stage practitioners can feel the basic form and Lord stage practitioners can begin to decipher the lines." "How about the symbols that doesn''t exist in nature?" "Two ways, experimentation with manas and encounters with manabeast terrors. Magician can use auras to create original constructs, but it''s equivalent to drawing blind. Luck is a huge factor. Only emperor stage practitioners are capable of such experimentation. Lastly, manabeasts terrors can create spells that scholars try to study and emulate." "How about the Persona symbols?" asked Nico. "Through Persona Stones. They are collected and studied throughout the centuries." "Ah, I think I understand now," said Nico. Nico closed the book and gave it to the elderly man. "Thank you sir for the guidance." "Hmˇ­ I don''t know if I have provided you with much help. Are you a magic branch student?" Nico shook his head. "My name is Nico, I''m from the cultivation branch," Nico introduced himself. "I am Professor Stance." Ah, a professor. Nico bowed down three times. "It''s alright, I''m not in uniform. Thank you for the book." Regular staff of the academy usually wear plain clothing. The Professor Stance took the book and departed. "Hm.... Now where is the exit?" The professor looked around. "Professor, the door is that..." Professor Stance exited from the large window. "...way." Nico watched as the elderly Professor walked away. Good thing they were on the ground floor. Nico stayed to study and left shortly after. The next morning, Jack and Nico reported back to Instructor Lingo. "Today, I am going to test your stamina," Instructor Lingo stated. Without much prompt, Instructor Lingo paced around the campus as the other students followed. They ran around the entire courtyard several times. 49 laps, 50 laps, 51 laps... "How much longer do we have the run?" The kids complained and panted. "Come on you bunch of wussies! You run like a bunch of toddlers!" Shouted Lingo. "But we''re only 7!" They shouted back. "I''m not here to babysit! Quit ya whining and run!" 130 times around the court, one down... 131 times around the court, two down... 132 times around the court.... Children continued to fall. After running over 50 km, only Nico and Jack remained. They were the two oldest boys, so it was expected. Instructor Lingo sped up his pace. "How much longer?" huffed Jack. "Maybe until noon?" Nico looked at the clock tower, it was still nine. After another 10km, Jack was beginning to breathe heavily, but he still continued. "You should stop when you reached your limit," Instructor Lingo advised. This was already beyond his expectation. He did not expect the two students to follow him for so long. Huff. Huff. Puff! Jack dropped after another 10km. Instructor Lingo was impressed that Nico was able to continue. According to the student list, Nico was the student with a chaotic spiritual core at level 6. He sped up his pace again, going 30km/hr. After 100 km, Instructor Lingo observed Nico, who was still relatively relaxed. He''s on par with condensation stage stamina, Instructor Lingo noted. By noon, they had ran close to 130km. At that point, Instructor Lingo was out of time, it was already lunch break. Since the cafeteria wasn''t open during orientation week, they had pre-made sandwiches from the student hall. They reconvened in the a small courtyard after lunch break. "Speed test is up next," Instructor Lingo took out a flat round crystal. "I''ll measure the time as you sprint." The students each took turn to sprint. For the evasion test, they dodged series of softballs thrown by Instructor Lingo. Nico and Jack both passed. Jack showed off his flips and acrobatic moves. The last test was archery. They each had 3 tries to hit a target 50m away. Jack stared at Nico''s target. "Wow, one thing I''m better than you at," Jack commented proudly. "Shattup, never use a bow and arrow before," Nico stared at all his missed targets. It couldn''t be helped, Rooster wasn''t proficient with archery and Nico was already learning about other weapons. Weapon training usually require more than a year of training for each type. For example, a longsword training was different from a short sword training. Also, nearly all the students had missed their targets. Jack was the only one with three clean hits. Later that day, Instructor Lingo met with Professor Clemson and Quin. "Professor, you''re right about the boy, he''s really good," said Instructor Lingo. "Better than good, he''s probably on par with a lot of condensation stage students." Professor Clemson and Quin examined the results. "He''s more well-rounded than a lot of chaotic spirit root cultivators," commented Professor Clemson. "He''s recommended by Wurrick, Sir Yuer and Lady Eliana," said Professor Quin. "They are all military personnel, so it makes sense for him to have good combat sense." "Any other student you recommend?" asked Professor Clemson. "Jack is also good. Wind level 4, 3 meridian and 1 aura," said Instructor Lingo. "I don''t know if he will be able to keep up with the other students, but he''s good on his feet and has high accuracy." "Who''s going to be his cultivation professor?" asked Professor Clemson. "Professor Teru," replied Instructor Lingo. "Okay, we''ll keep an eye out." Nico returned to an empty dorm room after dinner. Ashe went to visit the library, Jack went off to train, and no one had seen Vincent the entire day. Nico walked out onto the balcony. Snowy and Junior greeted him with licks and hugs. They haven''t seen their master for the majority of the day. Polar raised his paw to say hello and went back to nap like an old grandpa. The balcony was lined with potted manaherbs that Nico had taken from the inn. Nico sat down into a meditative form and hugged Junior while Snowy played on top of his head. Nico took out the Boost Strength Pill and stared into it. It had been a couple of days, but he had yet to understand anything about Alchemy Pills. Even with Minko''s vision, he could not see any Shadow Symbols embedded within the pill. There were strong mana energy within, but it was difficult to see. Nico wondered if his level was too low. Nico stored the pill in his breast pocket and watched the distant sun slowly burning the clouds and sky with shades of reds and purples. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the surrounding. He could feel the different symbols floating around. Even without Minko''s vision, he could feel them. The shadow symbols felt like shapeless blobs. Nico breathed in the air and some symbols naturally entered his body. After acquiring the manaroot, it was easier for him to absorb mana directly from the environment. It was better to absorb mana orally, but daily meditation helped him to train his senses. One major disadvantage of Minko''s vision was that it was only active at night. As the mana entered his body, he broke the symbols into lines and neatly looped the lines around a ball of energy in his head. Before entering the Academy, Nico had tried to form another manaroot in his head using a similar method used to create the chaos root, but a little neater this time. The ball that Nico was currently forming was smaller, but denser than the chaos root. He felt that it was beginning to stabilize. Meridians and Auras Nico spent the entire night meditating. More manalines continued to wrap around the head node, but nothing happened. The next morning, Jack was assigned to Professor Teru and Nico was assigned to Professor Quin. In the Cultivation Hall, there were several small courtyards for one-on-one training purposes. Nico sat down and faced his new professor for the semester, Quin. Professor Quin had chiseled facial features, but he couldn''t be considered handsome. If anything, some people viewed them as boxy and ugly. He wasn''t old, but he had a demeanor that made him seemed older than he really was. Is old-fashioned a good way to describe him? Nico thought. "Are you paying attention?" asked Professor Quin as he finished his introduction to the boy. In truth, Nico was caught up by his own analysis of Professor Quin that he had completely ignored the professor''s introduction. It couldn''t be helped since Professor Quin introduction was very dry. "Yes Professor!" Nico lied. Professor Quin was skeptical, but he didn''t dwell on it. "I have reviewed your test results and we''ll review your cultivation path today," said Professor Quin. "You have really good combat amplitude, were you trained in the military?" "No, but I was trained by a retired military instructor," Nico replied honestly. Professor Quin nodded. "For how long?" "Since I was a little kid." A few months. Professor Quin continued to nod. "You have failed most of the paper exam." Thanks for the soft take-down, Nico thought sarcastically. "It''s not unusual for commoners, it''s sort of expected," Professor Quin added. "It is a surprise that you did well in botany. Did you study a bit of it?" "A little, while I was learning how to read." Professor Quin''s eyebrow rose. "How well can you read?" "Not too well." "I see..." Professor Quin scrolled through other reports. "The cultivation branch recommends that you train using either the Chaotic Devil or Raging Bull Cultivation Method." "What''s the differences?" "Chaotic Devil focus on boosting strength type meridians while sacrificing defense. Raging Bull focus on boosting a large amount of strength and speed type meridians while sacrificing defense and accuracy." Professor Quin walked Nico over to the center of the small courtyard. "Before you select, we''ll spar first," said Professor Quin. "Pick a weapon." "You''re going to be bare-handed?" Nico asked. "Yes," Professor Quin nodded. "Okay then, I''ll take the quarterstaff," said Nico brandishing a staff a head longer than him from the rack. Nico started off with a low guard with his left foot forward. Professor Quin watched Nico carefully, but before he could finish blinking, Nico attacked deliberately. Nico jumped and thrust the staff toward Professor Quin''s stomach. Professor dodged left to prevent a follow-up attack from the right, typical of a staff thrust stance from Nico positioning guard. Nico carried through with a follow-up, swinging the staff from right to left. Since Professor Quin had already dodged away, Nico could only follow through to maintain balance. However, it allowed Professor Quin to easily grabbed onto the staff and slid the staff under his arm to lock it in place. Nico quickly released his staff and bent down to sweep kick Professor Quin''s right foot from the back. Professor spun his body to the left to avoid. Nico used the opportunity to grab the staff from behind to slip it back out. Unfortunately, Professor Quin''s grip was strong despite being in a weird position after the low sweep kick. Since it was hard to pull, it was better to get rid of the staff. Nico released the gale force with a left jab to knock the staff away. He locked his arms around Professor Quin''s head from the back and clamped the head onto his knees. "A headlock!" Professor Quin was caught off guard. He released a body burst of spirit force and blasted Nico several feet away. "Damn kid! Didn''t mean to do that," Professor Quin hurriedly rushed to Nico''s side. "Are you okay?" "Oowwwwwwwww!!!" Nico exaggerated. Nico didn''t have much trouble with manabeasts, but being beat up by people like Rooster and Quin reminded Nico how evil and sadistic humans were! "Luckily, the robe took the blunt of the force." Professor Quin watched as Nico got up. "I didn''t expect you to abandon your weapon so easily. When you lose a weapon against an armed opponent, it is extremely difficult to fight back unless you specialize in fist. Even then, a strong fist expert can still lose to a strong sword expert. Were you planning to throw your weapon away or was it the spur of the moment?" "Both? If you had released and allowed me to pull back the staff, I would have whacked you from behind. Since you didn''t and were already tightly pulling it forward, I added to that momentum, easily knocking the staff out of reach. The moment you took my staff and let me sneaked behind you was when it was decided." Professor Quin nodded. "I wanted to disarm you when I countered, but you have used that to your advantage. With me holding onto the staff, I was turned into the weapon holder. Weapon greatest weakness against a fist or grappling expert is extremely close combat." Professor Quin had decided. "I think Chaotic Devil will serve you better." "I thought so too." Nico accuracy was average, and he was hate to sacrifice it for speed. "You have a pretty strong kick, that''s unusual for military training," Professor Quin commented. "Is it self taught?" Nico thought for a moment. "A kick is just a kick, I don''t really think much about it." "In any case, here are the books you should be studying over the course of this semester." Professor Quin gave Nico the Chaotic Devil Cultivation Method and another book. "There are also several basic techniques you will need to learn, like force barrier. I''ll see you next week on the 5th day. Set up an appointment with me in the Administration Hall if you''re stuck on anything." Nico took the books. "Thank you professor!" Later that day, Nico studied through the materials. The Chaotic Devil Cultivation Method was a good beginner cultivation method. It explained the steps to absorb the mana into the body and to open meridians. The meditation guideline described the positioning, rhythm of the breathing, and the state of mind. The correct positions create balance and help the practitioner find the center, often the location for the spiritual root. Breathing was the simplest way to breathe in the nature''s mana into the body and spiritual root. Advanced breathing techniques allow a practitioner to breathe in from their skin. Only when the mind is connected to nature was it possible to create a true meditative state, allowing the spiritual root to absorb the mana. Although it was a simple process, it was difficult for many beginner students to achieve true meditation. Nico way of meditation wasn''t much different, but he was meditating by what felt natural. The guideline had pictorial drawings that Nico found useful and readjusted his meditation form to match it. The next step in the cultivation method was to open meridians. The method focused on nine strength based meridians. The middle chest meridian was the first. According to the method, during the meditative state, push the spiritual energy from the spiritual root up into the chest meridian using the diaphragm. As more spiritual energy reach the meridian, it would eventually open. Nico wondered how it differed from opening auras. The best source of information about meridians and auras came from his roommates. Nico didn''t have much opportunity to observe other people with Minko''s vision, but it was possible to analyze his roommates. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Jack sat on his bed meditating at night. As Minko, Nico swam toward Jack. He saw the two nodes with wind related symbols in addition to his manaroot, which spun wildly around. Unfortunately, Minko''s vision was limited to clusters that dimmed and reappeared from the human body. Nico could not see where the nodes originated from within the body. Nico swan to the right and scanned Vincent, who was also meditating. Vincent had two glowing nodes that was glowing brightly in his body and two spirals floating around the spirit root. Nico swam closer, but another energy prevented him was examining closer. Nico saw a beastly stare from Vincent''s spirit root protecting the host and backed away. From what Nico had heard, Vincent had a Heavenly White Tiger root level 7 with 3 meridians and 3 auras. Nico swam to the other side toward Ashe. Ashe had two glowing nodes and 7 spirals around the spirit root. The arraignment of the spirals reminded Nico of the orbits of planets around the sun, with the distances increasing between each ring. All the spirals originated from a node that spiral around the root. Ashe spirit root was also hidden. The glowing nodes were considered meridians and the spirals were considered auras. From the observation, Nico assumed that the system counted both meridians and auras as mananodes. How a person used the mananodes determines whether it was classified as a meridian or aura. It was interesting to see the differences in the formation of meridian and aura. When Ashe was meditating to create the aura, he was focused on forming a manaring around his spiritual root. As he swirled the mana symbols around, he would try to keep the symbols in orbit. Sometimes the mana symbols would drift out and he had to circulate it around again until it entered the orbit correctly and stabilize. The circulating orbit naturally attract a manaline from the node. Ashe had seven manalines from seven different nodes forming the spirals. It sounded simple, but it took him three days to add one layer of mana symbols around the orbit. This was very different from opening meridians. Opening meridians involved a lot less control. The main objective was to shoot symbols from the spirit root directly into the nodes. It was like an arrow penetrating a paper target. As more mana penetrate the node, there would be more holes and opening in the target. Once the opening was wide enough, a manaline of connection was formed between the spirit root and the meridian. The meridian manaline was not as complex as the aura, but it was thicker and sturdier. Although the method seems simpler than forming aura, it was also more painful. Every shot of mana into the nodes were like sharp stabs from rusted needles. Nico was already in the process of forming a manaball in his head node, and had no idea what to expect. He was hoping for another manaroot. Nice completed, he could attempt the Chaotic Devil Cultivation Method. On the night before class officially commenced, Nico continued to meditate and focus on the ball in his head. Vincent and Jack were already starting their cultivation and were in deep meditation while Ashe was reading by his bed. They weren''t different from the other students in the Academy. All students must achieve a certain stage by a certain amount of time, or risked expulsion. There were too much on the line to slack off. Nico used magic to absorb as much mana as possible. Once the mana entered his body, he used a bit of manaforce to break down the mana into manalines. He wrapped the manalines tightly onto the yarnball shaped mana in his head node. As the manaline wrapped around, the manaball reacted. The manaball collapsed and fused together tightly forming a singular object half its original size. The manaball spun around and pulled apart the node into its orbit. A drilling headache pounded into Nico''s head, he screamed and collapsed onto the pillow. All his roommates stopped their studies and looked at him. Before they could react, Nico was already waving to signal that he was fine. "Nico, did you just open a meridian?" Jack inquired. "I think so," Nico wasn''t sure himself. They quickly congratulated him. "Is this your first time opening a meridian?" asked Ashe, he was curious because he had never seen a person opening their meridian so close by to him before. "Yep! Now I could see why people say it''s painful," responded Nico. "How did you guys manage to open your first meridian or aura?" "My first meridian opened probably when I was five," Jack said. "I was running around in the fields when suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my right leg. I collapsed at that time because it was so sudden and sprained my ankle. My parents took me to the doctor. He didn''t notice anything, but he recommended I practice the Kelseran Cultivation Method. The book was a bit expensive, but an uncle of mine had a copy and loaned it to me. I didn''t think much of it until it happened again on my left leg and then my right arm. The pain was less sharp. One day, Professor Tobias passed by our village. He noticed that my body had unlocked 3 meridians and recommended me to the academy." "Your body unlocked three meridians? That takes talent!" Nico sounded both impressed and curious. "That''s how most students from common background gain entry into this school," said Ashe. "If you don''t have talent for cultivation or magic, it''s difficult to grow. You have to be from a clan or nobility to earn a head start." "If you have the backing from the clan, why do clan members go to the Academy?" "It''s all about resources," Ashe explained. "The Hartlet Clan for example have thirty other members my age. They can''t distribute their resources to everyone, so that is why clans use the Academy as a way to allocate resources. If you''re accepted into an academy, you will naturally gain resources from the Academy and the clan will match what the Academy hands out. This way, only the most talented gets the resources." "Ah, that makes sense," said Nico. "So when did you two open your meridians?" Vincent thought about it. "The first one? I''m not sure," said Vincent. "When I was really young?" This was the typical situation for commoners who had unexpectedly open their meridian at a young age. Who can truly remember everything that had happened to them before the age of five? Ashe''s clan probably kept a record of when each meridian was unlocked. "Not telling," Ashe stated flatly. "What an ass," Jack jeered. "I told you mine." "You didn''t have to." "Ashe is right in that respect. We shouldn''t disclose some information to others." Nico assumed it was a clan secret. "It''s getting late, I''m going to sleep." Nico laid down in bed to check his status. Status: Manaroot: Chaos 7 Mananode: 2 Manaspirit: Midnight Koi 29 Strength: 44 FP: 25/26 Defense: 32 Speed: 32 Magic: 38 MP: 73/74 Resistance: 34 Casting: 26 The new mananode was slightly different from the Chaos manaroot. If the Chaos manaroot was like a star, the mananode was like Saturn. Nico decided to name the mananode Saturn for that reason. From a zoomed out perspective, the node resembled a meridian. However, a closer view would reveal a spiral from the manaroot forming a ring around Saturn. It was the opposite of an aura, which spiraled out from the mananode and into the manaroot. He could feel both his manaforce and magic was growing stronger. He was a bit reluctant to change his own way of forming the mananodes. He looked at the Devil Cultivation Method... I''ll just form nine manaballs in the nine meridians explained in the book, Nico decided. Life of Everyday Student In the morning before class, it was common to see students gather in the track fields, run laps and then use the training facility in the Student Hall. The training regiment was recommended by the instructors. Nico took a little longer than his roommates to feed his plants. Once done, they ran off to the track field. "So, what''s your first class?" Jack jogged steadily closer to the edge of the track. "Herbology 101," Nico replied running in the middle. "We''re all in the same class together!?" Asked Jack. "I think so, but it didn''t indicate a room. I think there should be many halls teaching 101." The Academy had an open ended series of lectures that students may choose to attend. The level of the lectures were restricted by ranking. The first lectures the Academy offered was Herbology. There were only 100 classes with varying levels, but levels a student could take depended on their ranking. "Is the number on the right our ranking?" Asked Jack about the schedule they were given. "Yep, I''m ranked #19591 in Herbology," Nico said proudly, out of 19879 students in the entire school. "I''m #19799!" Jack was sure he got 2 questions right. "What did you get Vincent?" "#19800." Ashe were stupefied by their ranking. "What rank are you?" asked Jack. "Number 7465," Ashe''s number was unusually high for his age. "Wow, we have a smartass in our dorm room. What class do you take then?" "Herbology 203." "So this testing tower place, we can only test out once a month to increase our rank?" Jack looked at Nico, who had idea. Nico shrugged and looked to Ashe for answer. "Yes, the Testing Tower is where you take the tests to be reevaluated," Ashe explained. "You may elect to test one time in each subject. The tower will reevaluate your knowledge and provide you with new ranking." Nico, Vincent and Jack all glanced at Ashe to continue with his explanation. "Didn''t any of you pay attention to the orientation?" Ashe shook his head in annoyance. "If you increase your ranking, you are allowed to attend higher level lectures." Ten minutes before nine, the clock tower chimed three times to notify everyone that the first lecture would begin soon. The clock tower had a magical sound property; no matter where the students were, they could hear the sound of the clock tower. Ashe left for Herbology 203 while the remaining three searched for the Herbology 101 classroom. Herbology 101 was easy to find. There were over 50 halls offering the same course in the Academic Hall. The three roommates walked into one of the empty lecture halls with a pretty instructor standing in front. After all the seats were filled in the lecture hall, they noticed that they were once again the tallest and oldest in a hall of around 150 students. At the start of the lecture, the instructor, a young Miss Irene in red robe, bowed gently down to the students. "Hello everyone! This is my first year teaching, please treat me kindly!" The young students, ranging from seven to nine, were easily charmed. "Today, we will learn about the basic parts of the manaherb, specifically the manarose," she began to explain. A crystal on her desk projected an image of the manarose on the screen, which immediately impressed most of the young students. They had all seen it before during orientation, but they were seated closer to it today. "I won''t go into depth the physical structure of the plants as you will learn it in botany class," she explained as the students quieted down. "What is herbology? It is the study of manaherb. What is a manaherb? Plant that have powerful energy and manacore. What are the differences in the different parts? The roots are used for earth and water property roots. The stems, especially the thorns, are used for adding sharpness property. The leaves have light and air property. The flower, fruits and seeds varied widely across different plant species. What are the benefits of manaherbs? The benefits are seen mainly through alchemy because people can''t process manaherbs properly. Herbology is one of the foundations of alchemy..." She then went through a list of 50 different manaherbs for the remaining hour... Half the class was drowsy by the end of the lecture. Never underestimate teachers'' ability to cast sleep without mana. "She is kinda boring," Jack whispered. She was basically reading information from the screen word for word without engaging the students. "It wasn''t that bad..." Vincent remarked. His notes were filled with information copied from the screen. "Can we leave?" Jack wanted to leave for the next class. Sigillogy 101 was their next lecture, but they didn''t have to leave. The same hall was also used for Sigillogy 101. Typically, the 101 classes were taught in the biggest halls because there were more students in need of 101 classes. Instructor Irene waited nervously to see if there were any changes to the student body. Should we leave? The students closer to the front stared at each other, and then nodded. They raised from their seats. "Where are you going students?" Instructor Irene inquired sweetly. "To stretch Instructor Irene," one of the smarter children replied. The students left, mainly to stretch, but never returned. Jack wanted to leave, but Vincent felt too lazy to move. Sigillogy was the class Nico was most interested in since it involved the understanding of symbols. He should give Instructor Irene a chance, he felt a little bad as more students were leaving. The poor woman looked like she was about to cry. A tall female student from the front was about to leave, but she stopped in front of Vincent. "Ah, Vincent, good to see you again, can I have a seat?" asked the female student. "Um, sure?" Vincent tilted his head. Nico and Jack wasn''t sure if that was a proper response. She sat on a vacant seat by Vincent. "Who''s the girl?" Jack leaned to Nico and whispered. "Anya, she took the exam with us. " "Oh, right! Hey, you made it too!" Jack gave her a thumbs up. "You''re Jack and Nico, right?" Asked Anya. "I guess that means the five of us made it through the exam." Nico counted the heads, one, two, three, and four. "Who''s the fifth?" "Xavier. He made it into the Academic Branch," said Anya. "He was ranked pretty high on the list. He was also in my tour group during orientation week." Nico haven''t seen Xavier, but the school was big like a college campus, so it wasn''t unusual. Instructor Irene was relieved when she saw students heading inside, most likely due to the lack of seats from the other classrooms. Soon, the seats filled back up. "Good morning everyone," Instructor Irene began. "If you do not know already, I am Instructor Irene. We will start with a definition. Sigillogy 101 is the study of mana through Persona and Shadow symbols." Kelseran definition of Persona and Shadow closely resembled Nico''s interpretations. "Mana have many forms, and the best way to understand them is to feel them with our roots, meridians and auras," Instructor Irene continued, she was a lot more animated than she was in the previous class. "For centuries, scholars have been studying the structure of mana. Our understanding of mana is accumulated into the study of Sigillogy. So far, Sigillogian scholars have uncovered more than five thousand Personas and 100 Shadows. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Sigillogy is the foundation for talismans, inscriptions, and many magical fields. Personas are the faces, the names, the descriptions, and the language of mana. If we want flame, we need to use the flame persona. If we want water, we need to use the water persona. Shadows are the hidden face, the power, and building blocks of mana. If Personas are our skin and personalities, the shadows are our organs. Manacores and many raw materials consist entirely of shadows. Whereas, alchemy pills consists entirely of manas that are reformulated by Alchemist, so we call it the Ego." Ah, is that why I can''t analyze anything from the Boost Strength Pill? Nico wondered and scribbled down notes. "Over the course of this class, I will help you become familiar with the different shadow symbols first," Instructor Irene explained. "Then we will move into Personas, which are more numerous." Nico raised his hand. "When do we learn about the combinations of symbols and Egos?" "That''s the more advanced class, starting with 301," she explained. "But you should focus on memorizing the shadows first, then the Personas." "Are there books we can borrow and look through?" asked Nico. "Books on Shadows and Personas are quite rare. Because they hold a certain amount of power, a normal layman can''t easily write them down." Irene walked to a board and chalked down a simple water persona symbol. The water persona symbol faded away soon after she wrote it down. Nico jaw dropped. "Wow!" "Amazing!" The kids were in awe. "Shadow symbol and personas can only be written with special mana-ink." Nico had always used mana-ink from various manabeast innards. He had never attempted writing with regular ink. "This isn''t the only reason why Sigillogy books are rare," Irene continued. "A book containing more than a dozen symbol, written correctly, may combust on its own. It requires a special binding to hold the book together. Okay, back to today''s lesson." The Constantine''s 108 Fundamental Shadow Symbols was fine, did it have a special enchantment? Oh S***, my journals! Wait, they haven''t self-destructed yet, it should be fine, Nico hoped. "That was actually helpful," Jack said after the class and stretched both arms out wide. "Yeah, she explained it better than some of the books I''ve seen in the library," Nico commented. "It''s lunch time!" Jack suddenly woke up. Nico also wondered what food the Academy was offering. "Can I join you guys?" Asked Anya. "Sure." Responded Nico and Jack. Vincent tilted his head down, it was barely a nod. They walked to the cafeteria, located in the Student Hall. The first floor was for the general body, the second floor was for the green robes, and the third floor was the red robes and above. The large open room was lined with tables lined with chairs. In the spring, all the doors were opened to allow fresh air and light inside. They grabbed the trays and lined up to collect their food. As it was their turn, they watched as the grumpy cafeteria ladies poured the runny stew into a frail wooden bowl, slopped on the mashed potatoes and threw two slices of bread on their trays. Oh, how he missed the food from Killo Restaurant Inn. "Hey! Why don''t we eat out for lunch next time?" asked Nico. The Academy didn''t restrict students from going out as long as they registered. Killo Restaurant Inn was only a 15-minutes walk, and afternoon classes were Academic classes like history, math, and physics. Nico was sure most of his roommates were planning to skip them anyway. "Should we go to the Jantilo Restaurant?" Ashe was a green robe, but he usually sat with his roommates. "Nah, I have a better place, and it''s closer to the Academy." Nico suggested. "Oh, hi, my name is Anya," Anya introduced herself to Ashe with a short bow. "Careful with this guy, he''s cold to everyone," Jack warned Anya. "Beautiful miss Anya. I am Ashe of the Hartley Clan. I am beyond honor to make your acquaintance." Ashe took a hold of Anya''s hands and gently kissed his other hand, for his gentlemanly introduction. "What the..." The boys were shocked by the change in Ashe. "Oh my, what a thoughtful gentleman." Anya bowed back. "It is so wonderful to see chivalry still exist in this generation." "Can you stop talking like we are still in the Kinbarl era?" Jack forced a piece of bread down his throat to keep himself from gagging. Ashe narrowed his eyes looking at Jack. Jack whistled and looked away. After lunch, they skipped history and math to focus on training. Nico returned to his room and reexamined his journal. It was the 12th journal he had written. The other journals were hidden in the cave behind his farmhouse. The journal had 60 pages of notes written mostly in personas and Kelseran. The journal was bound together by cashmere thread from managoat and protected by the hide of manadeer. His oldest journal was still in tack and it was written when he had discovered shadow symbols through Minko''s vision. The paper he had used at that time was regular linen paper. Nico wrote a simple flame persona symbol on regular paper. After a few moment, the symbol disappeared. The same thing happened when he wrote the shadow symbols. Next, Nico tested a flame persona with the shadow characters using the regular ink. As soon as he completed, a little fireball shot out. "Ah!" Nico quickly chucked the paper out of the balcony. Good thing he was in the balcony and the fireball dissipated in the air. That was close. Nico exhaled in relief. It was good decision to head to the academy. He felt like an infant child in this world. There were still many things he did not understand. During lunch, Nico introduced his roommates and Anya to Killo Restaurant Inn. "Who''s your friend?" asked Busho seeing Nico leading a group of students from the Academy into the restaurant. "My roommates and friends from the Academy," Nico then introduced everyone. Everyone said a friendly hello, but Ashe was a bit more extra. "It is an honor to meet two beautiful ladies," Ashe performed his gentlemen kiss on both Lulu and Innes. Jack wanted to poke his eyes out. "It''s good that you''re here, Mumu has been so depressed since you''re gone," Busho said. "He''s fine, he''s just experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Maybe eating too much good food is giving him brain damage." Nico looked at the board. "Can you get everyone the special?" "Sure." Busho started another flame. "I heard the Academy food is pretty good, why aren''t you eating there?" "It''s just the second floor and above," Ashe stated. "First floor food is pretty plain." "It''s bad," Jack added. "If it''s bad, stop by here for lunch then," said Busho. "Nico has helped us out a lot." The following days, they went to Beastology, Elementology, Mineralogy, Spiritology classes offered in the morning. The classes were formatted the same way as Herbology and Sigillogy, except it dealt with how mana affects beast, the elements, minerals/rocks and man. They continued to skip all the academic classes in the afternoon. Fenrir Shop On the 5th day of the week, Nico skipped anatomy and physics like usual. Nico preferred the Anatomy and Physic books over the lectures, as it was basically all memorization. Once he understood the technical names of the parts in Kelseran, he didn''t care much about the classes. He also had an avatar box that was more thorough and accurate than anything that existed in Kelsera and Earth. Nico met up with Easton and Yuri before they returned to Rinlin the next morning. They were stuck in Launtel for several days since many caravan companies were booked by the mass exodus of parents and failed applicants. Yuri was on the alternate list, but he didn''t make it into the Academy. Yuri looked the same as usual, but Easton looked like he had lost 10 years of his life. "It''s okay Mister Easton, there''s next year," said Nico. "I''ll stop by to see you and Yuri in Rinlin when I get the chance." "Thank you Nico, Rinlin is proud to have another Academy member, that is always a good thing." Easton recited a blanket statement. Easton was still lifeless, and Nico doubt anything will uplift his spirit. "I have some dried steak for you and Yuri to bring home." Nico had packed a couple of things for Easton and Yuri. He also had other packages that were officially given to the Lunpin Caravan Company for transport. The packages contained some healing balm jars he had completed for Shirley to stock up at Ollie''s and the talismans for Rooster. After saying goodbye, Nico walked into the Fenrir Shop. He wanted to sell five healing balm jars. The effects were amazing, even though they were ranked F. The healing balm were on par with many high end potions at Fenrir Shop. Manager Bosin at the Fenrir Shop examined Nico''s concoction. "Uh..." The manager was trying to remember Nico''s name. "Nico." Nico was sure he had told manager Bosin his name three times already, today was the fourth. No matter how many people goes in an out, the most basic skill of the merchant was people skill. "Yes, young Nico, so you''re telling me this healing balm can heal a wound in an hour?" "Yes, it also has great moisturizing effects!" said Nico. "You don''t have any talismans today?" "Not today." Nico sent most of it to Rooster and he kept the remaining. "Can you hold on for a moment? I need to test this out." Manager Bosin went upstairs, and came back down ten minutes later. The Fenrir Shop was willing to pay him 4 gold pieces per jar. Nico was surprised they didn''t plan to bargain for it. He was expecting them to offer 2 gold pieces. They were already selling hi-potions for 3 gold pieces. Nico exchanged the healing balm for 20 gold pieces and left toward his next destination. He didn''t have much time before his next lesson with Professor Quin, and wanted to complete all the errand runs in Launtel City. "Ho ho ho, the boy looks a little shocked," a lady in finely threaded silk dress headed down from the 2nd floor of Fenrir Shop. "Miss Merci, why are we offering so much for a healing balm?" asked one of the manager. "We still don''t know how effective it is." "He''s the same boy that has been selling the talismans to you?" Merci took one of the healing balm jars. They had already tested whether it was safe, but she needed to test it out on herself if she wanted to know the effectiveness. Merci smelled the balm, it had a light floral scent. She then smeared it on her wrist. "Yes miss, but he didn''t sell any talismans today." "Keep an eye on him, he may have more in the future," said Merci. Merci had received many positive feedback from customers regarding the talismans. Customers who could buy talismans were all capable people, so if they ranked a particular product highly, she would be an idiot not to make note of it. Although she was curious, she didn''t realized how unusual the talismans were until her meeting with Gafney, the leader of the Marsien Mercenary Group. "An honor as always to see the beautiful Miss Merci," said Gafney, a man in his early thirties as he walked up to the second floor guest room. Merci only meet with important guests on the 2nd floor of the Fenrir Shop, and Gafney was one of them. "I can''t say the same about you," Merci bowed slightly to greet her guest. "Have a seat." Gafney took his seat. "What do you need?" Merci asked sharply. "You don''t have to be so prickly." Merci frowned and sat down across from him. "I need to order some high grade weapons and antidotes," said Gafney. "Antidote?" Merci frowned again. "That''s quite vague. What type?" "Against insects." "That''s going to be expensive." "We can work that out." Merci quickly drafted up the contract. "I''ll have my men deliver it in a week." "Already trying to kick me out?" Merci ignored him and gave him the contract. "Oh yeah, your firebolt talismans have been especially powerful lately." Gafney commented while scanning through the contract. "I was surprised it had worked against the manajaguar during one of our hunts." "I am more surprised you need to buy talismans at all." "We have a new healer on our team and needed some talismans to protect her. When we went hunting, we were ambushed by a pack of three manajaguars. Luckily, we bought a batch of five firebolt talismans for our hunt. The first time Lissi used the talisman, it had severely damaged the manajaguar. We thought it was a lucky draw, but the following two talismans had the same effect." Merci wasn''t surprised before, but she was after he mentioned that the three talismans were high grade. Talismans were known to have varying strengths and power. A talisman maker could make a poor F-ranked talisman one day and a excellent B-ranked talisman the next. An F-ranked level 1 firebolt could shoot out a golf-ball sized core fireball at 10 meters/second. A B-ranked fireball was the size of a baseball. "How big was it?" Asked Merci. "About this big." Gafney put his fingertips together to form a ball between his palms. Gafney''s hands were bigger than an average person. "That''s an A-ranked firebolt, and you bought three of them from our shop!?" Merci couldn''t believe what she was hearing. "Five." "Give me back the two," Merci demanded. Gafney signed the contract. "Have a good day Merci." Gafney left happily knowing he had just pissed off Merci. Merci immediately investigated the source and was surprised to learn that the shop manager Bosin had bought several dozens from a Windel Academy student. At first, the managers didn''t think too much about it since Academy students regularly sold talismans to the shop. Once they tested the talisman authenticity with the Darbi Scale, they displayed the product on the shelf. There was no way to test the rank and efficiency unless they used it themselves, but then it would be a waste of a talisman. If Miss Merci had not asked, they wouldn''t have noticed any differences in the talismans sold by Nico. Merci wanted to test Nico''s talisman herself. However, it was difficult to tell which talismans already on display belonged to Nico''s, so Merci asked Bosin to keep track of Nico''s talismans. Even more than the talisman, a good talisman maker was a good acquaintance to make. If Merci could verify his talent, adding him into the Fenrir clan was worth more than the small Fenrir shop. Too bad she couldn''t verify it today. "A young boy exchanged with you dozens of talismans, and you didn''t think it was unusual?" queried an irate Merci. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Manager Bosin and the other managers lowered their heads. Fenrir Shop was one of the busiest shops in Launtel. The fast pace style of every transactions made it difficult to keep track of all the customers and suppliers. There were also too many unusual people in Launtel already. They could make many excuses, but Merci wasn''t an easy woman. Her name was Merci, but she was known as the Viper. Luckily for the managers, Merci was distracted. She felt the mana from the healing balm seeping into her skin. She smiled. The managers shivered in fear. They didn''t know if the smile was a good sign. "This is definitely a profitable trade. Place it on the shelf for 7 gold pieces and call it the Healing Beauty Lotion. If the boy comes again, let me know." "Yes miss!" The managers responded in relief. Nico sneezed unexpectedly as he walked into the Kelseran Empire Union Bank, or the KEU. Banking had been a part of Kelsera for over 200 years, backed by the Kelseran Empire. All transactions needed 7-15 days to process, but it was better than carrying a large amount of gold pieces around. There was a small outlet of the KEU in Rinlin, but it was very small and managed by three clerks. The KEU in Launtel was a large complex. They even had a separate wing exclusively for members of the merchant guild. The KEU also doubled as a postal carrier service. Although caravan companies also had postal service, it was cheaper with the KEU. Nico stored all of his gold in the bank and wrote a promissory note for Shirley to begin renovation on the Ollie Shop. Nico ripped open a letter from his mailbox and scanned through a scribbled note written by Rooster. "Farming chores, all good. But what the f*** is wrong with your managoats?!" Nico rolled his eyes and placed the letter in his breast pocket. After finishing his errands, Nico arrived to Professor Quin class at 4:15pm. The twenty green-robed students in the small courtyard inspected Nico as he entered. The students had all trained together for the past seven to eight years, so they all knew each other. It was unusual to see a new student in their class. "Who''s the new guy?" they whispered to each other. "Don''t know, have you heard about him?" "No, not at all. There''s only one well-known new student in our age group, and I''m sure he is in the elite class with Professor Aseroth." "But he gotta have some type of talent to be in our class, we aren''t the elite class, but we are still the ranked A class." Their voices gradually increased into a full blown conversation. "He''s still wearing the blue robe, a gathering staged students in our class?" One of the students standing with a couple of boys sneered. "Come on now Corby, you''re not afraid of the new kid?" asked Badan, a flat faced boy. "I''m not afraid, just disappointed by the incoming selection this year," Corby responded. "The Academy reputation is going to drop if they continue to admit students with such low standards." "I''ve heard they accepted more commoners this year." Nico wanted to know why they chattered so much when he could hear them. Professor Quin walked onto the courtyard. "Is that our new professor?" The students whispered again. "He looks scary." "And ugly." "Why is his face so boxy?" Well, at least they didn''t call me ugly. Nico glanced at Professor Quin, who looked immune to the insult. Professor Quin waited until everyone settled down before he began his lesson. "All of you should have a cultivation method based on your potential. As your assigned professor for this year, I will do my best to answer any questions or assist you when are stuck on a particular section. I am available on most days, so simply schedule a time at the registration hall to meet with me. We will not meet regularly as a class, but check the announcement board every week to see if a class is scheduled. Today, we will have a tournament to see what you have learned so far." The students buzzed up with excitement. "I''ll send out a critique sheet to everyone based on today''s results," Professor Quin explained. "Cultivation is about enhancing our bodies, but to what end? The goal is to survive or win against the wilderness. If you''re strong but can''t keep yourself alive in a fight, it is meaningless. A knight stage cultivator can still lose to a condensation stage assassin if they are careless. Combat and awareness are very important to this year training. There are twenty-one of you, so we will draw straws to see the match order, with one person having a free pass." The students drew the numbered straws. "For today spar, we will only use bamboo sticks." Professor Quin pointed to the rack of bamboo sticks. "Be careful with these sticks and don''t underestimate them. With the right amount of spirit force, it can still be a deadly weapon. You may also elect to use the battle gloves. The fight will end when the winner breaks the opponent''s first force barrier." Professor Quin looked at Nico. "Have you completed the force barrier?" "Yes sir!" Nico responded. Professor Quin had half expected it, but still surprised. "Explain to me what a force barrier is." "A force barrier is a body forming type cultivation technique. It is the most basic technique a cultivator must learn if they consider themselves a cultivator. The technique draws spirit throughout the skin of the body. Since it isn''t released from the body, it doesn''t require a lot of energy. Gathering staged expert can form half a layer, condensation staged expert can form a layer, and foundation staged expert can form three layers. If the opponent attacked with enough force, the barrier would break and the spirit would scatter. The physical body would remain fine without a single scratch or physical trauma. However, the scattered spirit would take some time to recover before it could be reused." Whew, that was a mouthful, thought Nico. He had read it three days ago with Ashe''s help, so it was still fresh in his head. At first, Nico had asked Jack since they were both required to learn force barrier. "What is congeal?" asked Nico. "Congeal is congeal, you know, congeal," Jack explained crunching his hands together. Ashe overheard Jack''s explanation from his desk and shook his head in annoyance. He was going to lose a couple of brain cells. Nico decided to skip the word and continued reading. "How about this word, how do you pronounce it?" asked Nico. Jack looked at the word. "I think it''s coat-clock-gu-late-tion." Eh??? Nico stared blankly at Jack. "I''m not even from Kelsera and can explain it better than you," Ashe felt exasperated. "Well, you have a funny accent!" Jack harrumphed. "At least I speak three different languages and you can barely explain one!" Nico lit up. "Ashe, help me with this manual!" "5 manacores," Ashe offered. "Fine," said Nico, he still had plenty of manacores he had collected from Lindan Peak. The effects were waning and he mainly used them to feed Junior and Snowy. Ashe helped Nico to read some terms from the Force Barrier manual. "So it''s similar to the robe we wear?" Nico inquired. Ashe nodded. "Yes, but your blue robe is slightly weaker than a force barrier. The robe could protect the body from regular attacks, but it is not as effective against other practitioners." "So can magicians use force barrier?" "Magicians can also use force barrier, but their barriers are generally weaker and required less force to break. Magicians prefer to use Body Aura." Body Aura? Nico and Jack both stared blankly at Ashe. Barriers Jack and Nico were both clueless about Body Aura. Ashe looked at Nico. "Another 5 manacores." "What!? Why another 5?" Asked Nico. "Jack is learning too, so the fees are doubled." "Why are you looking at me then?" Nico asked. Jack wasn''t as loaded with manacores like Nico. "Do you accept an I owe you note?" Jack looked to Ashe. "And Polar will be slave for a week." Polar heard his name and turned his head to look at the roommates. These humans want to be my slave? Polar nodded happily and went back to his nap. Ashe reluctantly agreed. Jack was going to annoy him if he didn''t accept it. "The force barrier is a cultivation method used to strengthen the skin," Ashe reiterated. "However, the Body Aura uses aura to create a magical barrier outside of the skin. It''s not all that different, except Body Aura has better protection against magical attacks." Nico and Jack had been studying the past three days with Ashe, but it was easier for Nico to grasp the concept with of his Avatar Box and Minko''s vision. After Professor Quin went over the rules for the mini tournament, he took out two pairs of black Barrier Indicator Cuffs. "These barrier indicator cuffs will turn white once a barrier is broken," Professor Quin handed first two combatants each a black Barrier Indicator Cuff. "You will fight until the first barrier is broken." Nico watched the first match between a short kid and a tall kid. The two students charged recklessly with their bamboo sticks. Clunk! Clunk! The bamboo sticks clashed with one another. The tall kid student powered through the other and slashed the opponent stick away. Without a weapon, the short kid ran off. The tall kid used his height to his advantage and continuously attacked until the short kid''s cuff turned white. The other five matches followed a similar routine. Most matches ended within 5 minutes. The students relied too much on their power and attacks. The students simply charged at each other, blindly attacking without much thought. They had some combat training and knew basic combat strategies, but in actual combat, most were unable to think clearly. Real combat was easier said than done. The 7th match was between Nico and a baby-face little boy named Lutchu. He was the same height as Nico, so it was weird seeing him with a round baby face. "How do you think the newbie will do?" The students asked each other. "Against Lutchu? I don''t know, Lutchu isn''t the strongest fighter, but his defense and force barrier are quite strong. This might be a long match." In the center of the courtyard, Nico stood facing Lutchu. Professor Quin gave the signal. Nico waited for Lutchu to attack first. Students, unlike professors and manabeasts, were the impatient sorts who would rush in to attack first. Attacking first had many advantages, but only if the opponent was unprepared. Lutchu charged directly into Nico with a high guard. Waiting for an opponent to attack allowed Nico to plan ways to counter. Nico lifted the bamboo stick to block and counter. Good, he''s planning to take the hit straight on and then counter. Lutchu gained more confident and continued his charge. Nico sidestepped right before impact and tripped Lutchu. Lutchu fell forward as Nico thrust the stick backward toward Lutchu''s ass, a move Nico had frequently used in Lindan Peak. The surrounding students laughed. "Lutchu is an idiot! Tripping to a blue robe like that." "Lutchu is too rash and overconfident. He should have went with a low guard." "He can still counter quickly and hit the new kid back!" Despite what the majority were thinking, the cuff had already turned white. "What the?" The students were shocked. "How did it end so quickly!?" Force barrier was strong, but it was unevenly distributed. Most people automatically placed extra buffer to protect their vital parts and limbs. The back and butt were easily neglected and the most vulnerable. In a normal fight, it would be fine, but in a match-up where the purpose was to destroy the force barrier, the back and butts were the biggest targets and the weakest. Nico won his second and third match-up. There were three students remaining at the end. Corby and Badan were strong fighters in the Rank A class, but they were both arrogant. Raised as clan members, they had more combat experiences than their peers and naturally looked down on others. "The new kid is strong, do you think he can beat Corby and Badan?" Most said no. "Badan normally uses a sword, so a bamboo stick isn''t that different. He should win easily. I don''t know about Corby." "Corby likes to use throwing knives, so he''s going to be at a disadvantage." "Yeah, the new kid have a bit of a shot against Corby, but not Badan." "The new kid looks pretty proficient with thrusting, a spear user?" "Probably, he has been thrusting in the ass, and using the same move. I bet he doesn''t know any attack." "He''s probably a one trick pony like most spear users." "Yeah, he''ll probably lose, unless he gets a free pass." Professor Quin wasn''t planning to allow a free pass for the final three. He had planned to have a round-robin competition between the three. However, after looking at how Nico had quickly dismantled the opponents, he was sure Nico could easily defeat Corby and Badan. "The kid has the force barrier manual for a week and he is already thinking about its weakness," thought Professor Quin. Force barrier was one of the most basis cultivation skill and most people could use it after a month. He needed another way to test Nico. "Next round, a 3-way match-up," Professor Quin said wickedly. He threw away his original plan. This was quick and more interesting. "This is going to be fun to watch!" The students all re-evaluated their prediction. "There has always been rivalry between Corby and Badan, so it will be interesting to see how having a third party will change this." "They will probably try to take out the new kid and then duke it out afterward." The three combatants stood in a triangle position to start. Professor Quin gave the signal. Corby and Badan both looked at each other, and quickly charged toward Nico, but Nico was already charging at Corby. He''s going to sidestep and attack the back, thought Corby. If he sidestep, I can reposition the bamboo stick to hit his ass like he usually do first. Corby prepared to reverse the grip on the bamboo sword. Nico noticed the slight change in his wrist, and continued to thrust the stick directly toward Corby''s stomach. Nico leaned to the left, still pointing the stick toward Corby''s stomach. Corby watched carefully and quickly leaned to the right to evade. Corby reversed his sword grip and was about to strike. However, he saw Nico''s sword continuing its path toward his stomach. S***! He''s attacking the front! Corby immediately tried to slash the thrust away. Nico pulled back his thrust swiftly and thrust again in quick succession toward the stomach area. One thrust, two thrust! The force barrier broke apart. Nico immediately used galeforce to launch his bamboo stick toward the incoming Badan. Badan noticed the charging stick and prepared his defensive technique, Sword Turbine. The Sword Turbine created a vortex-like shape with the bamboo stick and defected the flying bamboo stick. "Ha!" Badan smirked. Whack! Another bamboo stick hit Badan''s stomach. By the time he recovered, he was punched right in the stomach again and flew back. The Barrier Indicator Cuff turned white. All the students stared at Nico in disbelief. "What the f*** just happened!?" Asked the students. "That didn''t even last 3 minutes." "Rah ha ha ha ha!" Professor Quin laughed for the first time. Nico''s previous battles had influenced Corby and Badan to focus their force barrier on their backs and butts, causing the front stomach area to weaken. "Professor Clemson wanted a berserker, but this is even better than a berserker," Professor Quin said to himself. Berserker''s primary role in battle was to completely dominate the opponents with pure strength and end the battle quickly, neglecting any battle strategies. Nico didn''t even feel exhausted after he won. He shouldn''t feel proud after beating up a bunch of kids, but he did. ****Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. 7th day, Darbi Day, D-Day, Day of Rest. Nico laid in bed on his stomach after feeding the manaplants, he was mentally tired from school. Was there a psychological reasoning for why he could run non-stop for days, but 6 days of school could easily knock him out? Nico looked to his right, Ashe was still reading. What sort of kid still read on their day off? Nico rotated his head back to face his pillow. Snowy and Junior jumped on top of his back as though he was a bouncy house. Oh right, I need to walk them. I haven''t explored outside of Launtel City yet. Nico sprang up, it''s hunting time! Nico geared up in his hunting vest. The blue robe had a protective barrier, but Nico hated the blue robe. He felt like he was wearing a dress and it was too impractical for quick movement. Nico''s force barrier should be enough to protect him from thorns and twigs. Nico wore tight pants and vest he had designed with a local tailor. It wasn''t too modern that it would stand out, but just enough to accommodate the little throwing knives and talismans. Nico headed toward the door with Snowy and Junior following from behind. They wagged their tails in anticipation of their first "walk" outside the city. They enjoyed walking in Lindan Peak with Nico the most. "Where are you going?" Ashe asked curiously. "Hunting!" "Ooh, can I come along?" Jack jumped into his trouser and shirt, and waited right before Nico. "Nah--" Jack dragged Nico to the Contribution hall without hearing a response. They looked through some of the available missions. Missions: Collect a Ugali Herb, Rewards: 250 AP. Possible location: Arango Forest. Collect 1 Manabeast carcass. Rewards: 1000 AP-5000 AP. Possible location: Arango Forest. ... Exchange APs: Strength Pills: 10,000 AP Level 1 Cultivation Techniques: 5,000 AP. .... Kaibera Plant: 5,000 AP Nico recognized the manaplant needed for the Plus-One Pill. "Do we have to register?" asked Nico. The registration clerk shook his head. "You don''t have to. You can check any open missions and hand them in if you come across anything. But you do need to register a mission if you plan to loan out weapons." Nico and Jack continued scanning through the missions. "Did you hear the rumor?" the students chattered amongst themselves. "There is supposedly a manabeast terror in Arango Forest." "No way, why would a terror end up in Arango? Is the academy going to send out the Hunter Team to take care of it?" "The mission isn''t listed yet since it''s only a rumor. But they might have a mission out in a few days." "I heard it''s restricted to green robes and above." Jack looked to Nico. "Should we still go?" "Yeah, it''s only a rumor so far, and it''s in the morning, so I doubt there will be any danger." Nico selected a mission to bring back a manabeast carcass. Nico took a spear and Jack took the bow and arrow. Once the had gathered enough information, they headed out to Arango Forest. Arango Forest was a popular hunting spot for many hunters. There was a good mixture of manabeasts that were known to hunt alone. One of the worst situations a hunter could encounter was a pack of manabeasts. Nico was not familiar with hunting manabeasts in a party. He had been in one hunting party, but it was for a regular wild hog. They rented a horse with a simple carriage from the Ranch club. "Jack, you''re heading out?" asked Oakland, a senior in the Ranch club. "Yep!" "You both sure are ballsy," Oakland surveyed Nico. "And you''re Nico?" "Yep." Nico wondered if Jack mentioned him to Oakland, the boy can talk a lot. Oakland charged them a discounted price of 20 silver pieces for the horse. Jack straddled the horse and Nico climbed into the cart. "Hey, can you teach me horseback riding?" Nico asked. Jack gave Nico a thumbs up. "If you teach me some basic combat!" "Not a problem!" Jack and Nico rode out of the city. Jack unmounted and gave Nico the reins. Jack taught him different ways to hold the reins along with some basic tips. "Horseback riding isn''t that difficult," Jack began to explain. "There are a few basic tips for beginner. Balance is the key, but most importantly, understanding the nature of the horse. Some horses are slow, but they are sturdy. The more you aggravate them, the slower they become. Some horses require encouragement, like carrots and horse feed." "Why is that important for horseback riding?" "Because horses are living beings with their own thoughts. They can be unpredictable, and even some experience riders are thrown back unexpectedly because they become negligent of the horses'' needs." "Ah, I see." Jack noticed a flat stretch of road. "Okay, try getting on its back." Nico was 155cm, but the back of the horse towered him by 40cm. He stepped on the stirrup and pulled himself onto the horse''s back. The horse faltered back once to stabilize its new weight. Nico body toppled side to side. "Whoa there," Jack calmed the horse with the reins. "Keep yourself balanced. Your center of gravity is different when you''re on top of a horse." Nico re-centered his body, it wasn''t difficult, but it felt different. Jack handed Nico the reins. "Pull the reins gently to the right slightly for the horse to steer right and pull it gently to the left to steer left. Don''t tug or yank on the reins. You want to cue the horse to move, not command it. When you ride a horse, they are your partner. Gently tap the horse with your legs and seat to cue it to move forward. We''re going to walk the horse slowly until you''re use to it, and then we will increase the pace." Jack explained the basic mount parts and the different cues. Once they arrived to Arango Forest, Jack took the reins and led it inside. There was one advantage of renting horses from the Academy, the manahorses were capable of defending itself and running away in times of danger. Jack straddled the horse and surveyed the area while Nico questioned Jack about his combat experiences. "Do you hunt often in your village?" Asked Nico. "Sometimes, but mostly smaller games like manarabbits and manachickens." There weren''t any manachickens in Lindan Peak. Nico heard there might be some, but they were mainly in the southern forests. "And you hunt mostly on horseback and with the bow?" "Yep." "So you don''t have a lot of close combat experience?" "A few, but usually with my dad and uncles in close watch." Nico nodded. "What are you learning from Professor Teru?" "Whirlwind Striking Cultivation Method, it puts emphasis on speed and accuracy." "But you''re worried about strength?" Jack nodded. "Throwing knives might be good to learn, but you are already proficient in bow and arrow, so it may not be important. Daggers?" "I''m used to fighting with a Bowie knife." "Okay, I can teach you basic military knife style!" Once they entered deeper into the forest, Nico asked Jack to stop. He recognized the Topen, one of the manaplant from Instructor Irene''s presentation. "What is that?" Jack whispered to Nico. The one meter tall plant with a boxy flower bud. It had not bloomed yet. "A Topen." Topen was an origin manaplant, having long history dating back centuries ago. The plant didn''t have a normal variety, and therefore considered an origin manaplant. Nico clipped part of the stem and leaves and dripped the cut into a diluted lifeless water solution before wrapping it in a cotton cloth. He didn''t want to uproot it for several reasons. Letting a plant grow in its natural environment was usually the best option. If he uprooted a plant, there was a possibility that it might die during transport. It was easier to find the manaplant in the future if the clipping failed, and much more difficult to find the same manaplant again elsewhere in the forest. He had already lost one manaplant because of this. He had little choice but to dry and store it without harvesting the seeds. They carried on further, remembering to leave markers on the tree. Junior tapped his paw on Nico''s cheek and pointed south. Nico nodded and followed Junior''s paw, there was a manabeast up ahead. Arango Forest Nico walked carefully toward the direction of Junior''s paw until he was able to sense something. He stopped and lowered to the ground. It was difficult to sense a manabeast who wants to remain hidden. If there was no movement, there would be no vibration on the ground. Nico could easily locate a manabeast in the dark, but it was difficult during the day. He could only rely on training his own senses. It was difficult to sense shadow symbols far away, but Nico could tell when there were strong clusters. Nico then signaled two numbers to Jack. He raised one finger and then two fingers. There was one manabeast 20 m away. Jack nodded to confirm he understood the message. Jack grabbed his bow from his back and carefully unmounted. Nico lightly stepped out of the cart and Jack tied the rein to the nearest tree. Jack and Nico steadily separated and walked closer to the target in a V formation. Nico took his spear and pointed it to one particular bush. Jack prepared his arrow. Nico gave him a countdown with his hand. By the time Nico enclosed his fist, Jack released his arrow. Nico charged toward the prey. The manabeast roared painfully, with the arrow dislodged right in its right eye. Nico saw its head peeking out and thrust his spear directly into its left eye and through the brain. The manabeast squirmed once and dropped to the ground. "Nice shot!" "You ended it pretty quickly." Jack walked closer to inspect the beast. "It''s a manatiger!" Manatiger had strong defense, for it to be knocked down in two hits was quite a feat. "Your spear thrust is scary." Jack saw the sorry state of the manatiger skull. "How were you able to shoot it in the left eye when it is hidden?" asked Nico. "Just based on the bushes it was hiding in. I''ve assumed it weighs 350 lb and around four foot high. Before they prowl to hunt, they like to take a low position, so I target it lower hoping to hit the face. Otherwise, it will hit the body." Jack hunted with his father and uncle, so he too knew the importance of preserving the body. They hauled the carcass onto the cart and continued further. They caught two more manabeasts. As they rode on, they stopped before a small crevice. Nico felt an ominous presence. He knelt on the ground and touched the muddy surface. Junior and Snowy shivered and cowered closer to Nico. "Anything good?" Jack whispered. Nico shook his head. "I think we should head back." Jack looked at the cart. They had enough for the horse to carry back, and agreed to head back. On the way back, Nico and Jack encountered one more manabeast. Congratulation, Kill 200 Manabeasts Task Complete. Nico used the Roulette Coupon and received a recipe for Holy Oak Wand. Nico looked through his task box. Tasks: *New* Plant and Harvest 1 Manafruit. 0/1. Reward: System Reward. Kill 5 Manabeast Terrors. 0/5. Reward: Roulette Coupon. Create 5 Alchemy Pills. 0/5. Reward: Roulette Coupon. Manafruit? Nico wondered about it, he had never encountered a tree with manacore. Once they were out of the forest area, Nico took the reins again. This time, he was comfortable enough to converse with Jack on the basics of combat. Some students can''t learn from just reading. They memorize information better when it was orated and taught directly. Although Jack regularly made appointments to learn with his professor, his roommates were always there and a good source of information. People were likely to memorize a conversation from a friend than a passage from a book. Once back, Nico and Jack divided the manacores and turned in the carcasses for Academy Points. Carcasses were prized by the Academy for experiments and raw materials. Although they also preferred manacores, very few people were willing to trade in manacores. When they returned to their dorm, Jack bragged to Ashe. "You spent most of the morning in Arango Forest and collected only 3000 APs?" Ashe stated, still looking at his book. "It sounded like this bookworm thinks he can do better?" Jack retorted. "I only need to join up with a tanker, and can probably get 5000 APs in the morning." "Hm, I''m curious if you''re more than just talk, how about a match?" Nico was also curious to see how a magician like Ashe would fight. There were spars between blue robed magicians in the Student Hall Training Center, but their magic was barely considered magic. "With you?" "No way, between you and Nico," Jack suggested. "Me?" Nico was in the middle of feeding manacores to Junior and Snowy when his name was mentioned. Vincent interest piqued. Everyone looked at Nico. "Sure, I guess," Nico agreed. In the student hall, they registered for a battle court. While they waited for their turn, Anya showed up. "How in the world do you know we are here?" Asked Jack. "You''re not stalking us?" "Why are you so rude to a lady?" Asked Ashe. "Hello Miss Anya, are you interested in officiating the match?" "Sure." Anya agreed. She then looked at Jack. "I''m in the student hall association. In other words, I work here." Jack ignored her and walked toward the court. The court was one of several smaller courts within the Student Hall provided to students for training. Each court was protected by an array. There were several other groups sparring and practicing in the other courts. "I''m ready. Are you ready?" Ashe stood impatiently on the right side and looked at Nico. Nico stretched on the left side of the court while Vincent, Jack, and their pets watched from the rear. "Yep, ready." Nico thumbed up. Nico and Ashe both wore the black battle indicator cuffs they had loaned from the student hall. Anya walked to the center. "All right, first to have their force barrier or body aura broken loses. On the count of three. 1, 2, 3!" Anya leapt out of the court as the round began. Without warning, three fireballs shot toward Nico. Nico dodged to the right to avoid the first fireball. The 2nd fireball closed in on Nico and singed his left sleeves. Nico leaped back, barely escaping the third shot. That was close. Nico crouched on the ground and examined the magician staff Ashe was holding, it was known as the Trifire Magician Staff. Magician greatest weakest was casting time, but they had other means to attack such as talisman and Magician wands or staffs. Talismans were single use items, and while they were extremely useful, it was wasteful to use in spars. Magician wands were capable of casting spells, and the preferred method for a first attack. However, it needed time to recharge. "That''s too cheap!" Jack cried out from the side. "If I have a weapon like that, I would be a strong magician too!" "Magical weapons need time to recharge, the stronger the spell, the more time the magician needs to concentrate their energy into the staff," Anya explained. "If you were paying attention, you could see the fireballs shooting out from the staff head. The staff head is the point where the magician''s aura is connected to. A cultivator like you could probably puff out hot air, but not a fireball as strong as Ashe, not to mention three consecutive fireballs." Ashe recharged the wand on his left, he was already preparing the next attack. Nico rushed toward Ashe and thrust using Gale Force. The spear drilled into an invisible barrier. The body aura cracked, but Ashe jumped back before it could be destroyed and cast three blades of ice. Nico flipped back to dodge the blades. The third blades boomeranged from the back and to hit Nico from the side. Nico bent down, barely avoiding the blade. "Damn it! Why didn''t anyone warn me about magic spells?!" Nico shouted. "Can magic spell curve like that?" Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "Amateur magicians can''t, but good magicians can bend their spells," stated Anya. "Otherwise, magicians might as well just use talisman that only has a single trajectory." Nico thought about it, it did make sense. Talismans were like a beginner billiard players and magicians were like professionals with their various trick shots. Nico threw the spear directly at Ashe and dashed forward, he needed to close in. The spear collided with an invisible barrier, but again Ashe backed away before it did further damage to his body aura. Right as Nico was about to punch directly at the barrier, Ashe whacked his staff toward Nico''s head. S***! Nico leaned to the left. He concentrated the mana force into his right leg, and kicked toward Ashe. Ashe pointed his staff toward Nico, and the wand shot out a fireball. Ping! Nico noticed his battle indicator cuff had turned to white. Well, that sucks, Nico thought. Jack looked at Nico''s battle indicator cuff and then Ashe''s, which had also turned white. "Damn it! Whose cuffs turned white first?!" "It''s a draw?" Anya declared with a bit of hesitation. Anya had watched the match carefully. Nico kicked into Ashe''s body aura at the same moment Ashe''s fireball reached Nico. She didn''t look at the cuffs, but it was close enough to declare a draw. "It''s a draw," Vincent also concluded. Ashe and Nico both shrugged and then shook hands. "You have just learned force barrier, so I''m surprised it took me several tries to break it," Ashe stated truthfully. If it had been anyone else, their barrier would already shattered after his first spell. "You as well. I''ve seen a couple of interesting spells in other spars, but this is the first time I''ve seen someone fight without relying on a partner," Nico commented back. Ashe shrugged, he was used to fighting alone. "I didn''t expect the spells to curve like that." "Magic manipulation requires a lot of practice." "Whew, that was interesting." Jack patted Ashe in the back. "You''re better than I thought." Ashe glared at Jack, who backed away. "Take it as a compliment buddy!" "Hands off, I''m not your buddy." Ashe and Jack continued bickered. Vincent looked to Nico. "That''s not your full strength, isn''t it?" This guy... Nico looked at Vincent with a bewildered expression. "Of course not, it''s just a spar, and I''m more cautious since I''ve never been up against a magician before. Ashe didn''t fight with his full strength either." Vincent nodded. "How would you do against Ashe?" Nico asked. "Probably the same as you." Nico chuckled. "You remind me of my brother." "You have a brother?" Vincent wondered. "I mean, sort of like a sworn brother." Nico forgot he didn''t have any siblings in this world. "Sometimes, I can''t tell what is in his head." Vincent smiled. "You as well..." Nico smiled cheekily. Jack hovered around Nico and Vincent and then dragged their necks toward the exit. "I''m hungry, let''s go to Killo!" **** Later that night, Nico returned to Arango Forest with Snowy and Junior. He wasn''t used to the darkness, but Snowy and Junior could see well in the dark and retrace their path. Arango Forest was different at night. Hunters were cautious in the daytime, but they needed to be on constant alert at night. Manabeasts were more active at night, and hunted in pack. A single misstep could lead to death. Nico followed the sound of Snowy and Junior footsteps, only stopping once in awhile to use Minko''s vision to survey the area and gather more unusual manaherbs. He brushed against the twigs and branches as he plowed through the Arango densely covered floor. Snowy led the way while Junior sniffed out for danger. Nico spent a lot of time in Lindan Peak training the twins. Snowy was better with directions. She could easily memorize her way around any location she had been to once. Junior had a sharper sense. Once he was able to differentiate the differences between blood, metal and humans, he made a good substitute for a scout. Junior sensed something, and sniffled twice to make sure. He jumped on top of Nico''s head and tapped three times with his fluffy paws. A lick indicated humans, a nibble indicated trap and a tap indicated manabeast. Three taps meant a lot of manabeasts. Junior could sniff out things within 200 meters. Nico could only sense half of that. Unfortunately, Junior couldn''t tell how many and the exact location, just a general direction. Nico avoided all the manabeasts. He didn''t have time to deal with them. Once in the clear, Nico used Minko''s vision again. Shadow symbols clustered around a manaherb to the far right of him. Nico snapped lightly, Junior and Snowy stopped and followed Nico. Nico felt his way toward the source of the cluster. Under the forest canopy, not a single speckle of light from the stars and moon could be seen. As he closed in on the manaherb, he used Minko''s vision again to check his progress. The manaherb was only three steps away. Nico began casting a light spell. Nico used Saturn''s ring to gather light shadow symbols nearby, and began forming circular structures. His light spell created by Saturn''s ring was weaker than Minko, but he didn''t need too much light. Furthermore, it could attract unwanted attention. After a minute, the structure of the shadow symbols mirrored that of candlelight, Nico cast a light spell, creating a marble sized ball of light that floated on top of his head. The dimly-lit ball cast a small shadow within a small area of the forest. His MP lowered by one. Nico experimentation with Magic was limited to light and wind in the beginning, as they were the safest to experiment with. In the brisk early spring of Rinlin Village before he entered the academy, Nico had spent a lot of time gathering data on light and wind spell. It was easy to collect wind data for the spell, but most of the natural daylight couldn''t be analyzed with Minko''s vision, just a bit of light from twilight. Nico focused on the candle in his room, as it had the least complex light shadow structure. After understanding the structure, he attempted to cast a candlelight spell. As he sat before the mouth of the river between the farm and Rinlin, he faced the moonlit lake and gathered the various light shadows with Minko. Minko moved swiftly around to gather the various light shadows. Minko''s travel range at level 29 was approximately 3 meters around Nico. Once the shadow symbols were collected and formed, Nico released the spell. His MP dropped by one, but nothing happened. Nico''s order for the shadow symbols was incorrect. Nico reordered the shadow symbols several times. After a week of experimentation, he finally got the correct order. A small marble sized ball of light appeared, generating only half the light of a regular candlelight. After casting the same spell a couple of times, Nico realized that the spell didn''t need to be directly in contact with his body like mana force. Instead, Nico could create the light ball anywhere within Minko''s range. Minko could also move the light where ever Nico needed it to be. Nico''s light lasted for 5 minutes. Every time it began to disperse, Nico had to will the magic to continue at the expense of an additional MP. With the shadow symbols formula already set, the shadow symbols automatically gathered within Minko''s reach. Nico could continuously cast the light spell until he was out of MP. Nico readjusted the numbers of shadow symbols until the light matched the amount of light released by a candlestick. Nico wasn''t able to create anything bigger or more intense. After experimenting all he could with the light spell he called Candlelight, Nico experimented with wind spells. A Magical World Wind spell was different from light spell. Using what he had learned from the gale force in whirlwind spear and the shadow symbol structures of a light breeze, Nico attempted a light breeze spell. Within thirty seconds of gathering the shadow symbols with Minko, Nico generated a light breeze. The breeze dispersed quickly, but it was capable of knocking over light objects within three meters. Anything beyond three meters could still feel the residual air floating by. Nico held up a leaf with his left hand and aimed his wind spell toward it. The breeze shot out, shooting the leaf three meters away before it floated away with the natural breeze. Nico aimed at another leaf. The leaf flew three meters, and then another 1.5 meters. Nico had used two MP. Nico tried again. The following leaf flew three meters, 5.5 meters, and then slightly over 6 meters. Nico had used three MP this time, but adding additional MP moved the leaf only slightly further away. Nico adjusted some of the numbers of shadow symbols from the wind spell, and recorded the varying degree of strength in his journal. A light breeze could travel between to 2¨C5 m/s depending on the shadow symbol formula. After Nico felt confident with his light breeze wind, he attempted to emulate the winter gust. The structure of the wind gust differed from the light breeze even though they both had similar shadow symbols. After another week, Nico created the Wind Gust. Although the ones he had emulated didn''t have the coldness of the winter gust, it was stronger than the light breeze. The leaf traveled twice as far and he could even move a little rock 3 meters away. After creating Saturn, Nico used the node to cast spells rather than Minko. He didn''t have much opportunity to practice creating spell, so the ball of light was his first attempt. Nico could only extend Saturn''s ring out a meter away from his body, but he had better control than when he was instructing Minko. Nico mentally moved the ball of light from above him to a location near his left ear. Beyond a meter, everything was still pitch black. Nico knelt down to clip the manaherb. After packing the manaherb into his leather bag, Nico let the light naturally fade away. Nico continued to follow Junior and Snowy deeper into the forest. Junior stopped and jumped on top of Nico, licking him in the cheek. People? Nico wondered. Nico was curious, it was rare to encounter people. Hunters who usually hunt at night were strong. Nico wanted to see how other hunters deal with manabeasts at night. He slowly walked toward the direction Junior had indicated. Snowy and Junior both jumped on his back, on top of the leather bag. He heard metal clashing deeper in the forest.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. A fight? Nico hesitated to continue further, but his curiosity got the best of him. Nico jumped on top of the trees, from one branch to the next. When he was within range, he watched the fight happening below. There were four people heavily injured and possibly dead on the forest floor. Their torch burned into the surrounding leafy coverage, but the wet forest surface prevented it from spreading any further. Nico could barely see the faces of the two men fighting each other, but they were both strong practitioners, possibly late foundation stage practicioners. Nico waited atop the branch and didn''t interfere. It was difficult to tell what the situation was and what had led to the fight. As the men continued to clash, Nico sensed some smaller manabeasts running away, but there were stronger manabeasts heading their way. The two men would likely die if they continue to clash. "Isse! You damn traitor, you''re going to get us killed!" Cried one of the men in a low angry whisper. It was pointless to keep silence, but he whispered out of habit. Nico''s hearing was unusually sharp, and could still make out their conversation. "That''s the point," Isse grinned with a tinge of madness. "Leslie, have you ever wondered why I have asked you to hunt at night?" Leslie had allowed Isse to join their party a year ago. Isse was down on his luck, and Leslie felt partially responsible even though the situation that occurred to Isse''s family was caused by the previous generation. A few days prior, the party had a meeting to prepare for their next hunt. Isse had suggested a night hunt using a familiar route. Although the party was initially against the idea, Isse had convinced them that the hunt would be quick and worth the effort. Leslie realized that this was planned from the beginning. "What is this all about!?" Leslie growled in confusion. Isse stared at the woman laying on the floor. "Not only have you taken away my position in the clan, you''ve taken the only woman I have cared for! Do you think I will let you get away with it!?" Isse shouted angrily. "You''re crazy!" Leslie screamed, not caring about the incoming manabeasts anymore. "The clan has has always designated me as a core member and Gemma is my finance! If you had a problem, we could have settled it with a duel! Is there a need to drag her into this!?" "Hahaha!" Isse laughed manically, echoing throughout the forest. "You do not know how long I have waited for this! Had it not been your family scheming, my father would have been an elder already!! My father would still be alive and my mother would not have committed suicide! Everything is your fault!" "This has nothing to do with me or Gemma!" Leslie wondered why he was trying to reason with a crazy man. Isse charged madly at Leslie. A powerful fireball burst out, hitting Isse''s back. Isse was stunned by the sneak attack, but before he could even think, a knife was dislodged into his neck. Isse dropped to his knees, and blood trickled down, staining the forest floor. It happened so quickly that even Leslie could not see what was happening. Leslie sensed the manabeasts charging quickly toward the smell of blood. Leslie thanked the stranger with both his palms held together. He knelt down, patted the three bodies and grabbed their talismans and protective charms into his bag. He then bent down to carry an injured woman and quickly exited out of the forest. Nico jumped down and surveyed the remaining three bodies and Isse, they were all dead. Junior and Snowy noticed Nico''s hands visibly shaken as he felt Isse''s pulse. A pack of ten giant manahyenas closed in. Nico stood up, and paused for a moment. He took out four talismans, burned the bodies and quickly fled the scene. Junior and Snowy led Nico back to the location of the small crevice. Junior and Snowy cuddled gently into Nico''s hands. They could feel his hands still shaking uncontrollably. They didn''t understand why their master looked so frightened, he was never like this before. Nico leaned against the tree and petted the twins soft fur to calm himself down. Nico meditated to clear his thoughts. It was really a magical world. Terror After some time, Nico opened his eyes and stood up. He sensed daylight approaching. He was going to run out of time. It was pointless to think about what was right and wrong in these type of situation. He signaled Snowy and Junior to return home. The twins were reluctant to leave their master alone, but Nico would rather they leave the forest. He was planning to travel down the crevice and he wasn''t sure if the twins will be of any help. He might even lead them into danger. He trusted them to return safely to the dorm with both of their combined skills. Snowy led her brother away. Nico cast another light spell. He unpacked some items from his leather bag, tied a rope onto a tree and then himself. He carried only a short sword and a little sack. He looked down below the crevice, a rugged opening of shadows and darkness, and hoisted himself down. After landing on the bottom, he took out two different talismans from his inside pocket to prepare for any unexpected attack. He looked around, the cavern entrance wasn''t too big, but it was enough to dwarf his figure. There was a narrow tunnel up ahead, leading to a path of complete darkness. Nico walked in slowly. The cave was uneven, with rocky stalagmite blocking portion of the floor. Nico grabbed onto one stalagmite and leveraged his body across the cavern. The dimly lit path was small, barely big enough to fit a small carriage. Nico felt a breeze whispering through the gaps of the cave''s jagged teeth. The wind carried with it a faint stench of blood. After treading carefully for thirty minutes, Nico stopped and cancelled his light spell. In the damp darkness of the cavern, he could not see what was up ahead, but using Minko''s vision, he could see a large amount of symbols concentrated together up ahead. The creature was not alerted by Nico, yet, and he would like to keep it that way. Nico began gathering shadow symbols for a gust spell with Minko. Nico tapped slightly on the sack. Sorry little guy, it was either the twins'' dinner-plate or this. The creature inside the sack moved about, finally awakened after being drugged by the lifeless water. Nico released the wind gust spell. A gust of wind carried the sack deeper into the cave. The sack flew several meters toward the creature, immediately attracting its attention. Nico watched the shadow symbols and listened to the movement of the creature hidden in the dark. Cit, cit, cit, cit, cit... Cit, cit, cit, cit, cit... The endless sounds of tapping entered Nico''s ears. Hundred and eighty-two legs? Nico counted the various clicks. Centipede? As the creature charged toward the sack, the creature inside the bag erratically struggled about after sensing danger. The tie on the sack loosened and a small manarabbit escaped, only to see a giant centipede heading toward it. The manarabbit sped away. Nico counted the movement of the two creatures. The manarabbit was fast, but the centipede attack was faster, traveling up to 100 km/h. The manarabbit leapt up high to evade. Through Minko''s vision, Nico sensed the movement of the manarabbit. Nico estimated that the Manacentipede cavern was at least 10 meters high. The manacentipede looked up and spitted out a ball of gooey substance. The ball engulfed the manarabbit and poisoned it. The manarabbit dropped down in midair, but before it hit the ground, the manacentipede clamped onto the rabbit with its many legs. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The centipede tossed up the manarabbit and gobbled it up. Within 10 seconds, it was done. Nico waited to observe its next move, but the centipede snapped its front body toward Nico. Nico could feel the dangerous intent. F***! It found me. Nico stopped for a moment, but he shot back up and headed toward the exit. As he ran, Nico blasted a Red Flame Talisman in front of him, almost tripping the first few steps. The cave exit lit up with bright flames and broke several stalagmites. Without Minko''s vision, he was basically blind and he had no time to cast light. Nico took out another Red Flame Talisman, but aimed it toward the manacentipede as he ran. The red fireball landed directly on the center of its segmented body. No damage, but it momentarily stopped the manacentipede movement. The manacentipede shook out the red flame like it was a fly and charged toward Nico. The manacentipede attacking speed was quick, but its regular movement was average. Nico turned back again and blasted a Purple Flame Talisman, but it was also ineffective. The manacentipede spitted out a ball of acid toward Nico. Nico jumped on top of a broken stalagmite and continued to leap in a zigzag motion toward the exit. Every time he leapt away, he shot another talisman. By the time he was close to the exit, he had used eleven talismans. Five of those talismans were used to light his way toward the exit. Of all the six talismans used against the centipede, the Blue Light Talisman was the most effective. It didn''t do much harm, but it slowed down the beast movement. Does it have a force barrier? Nico was sure most manacreatures would have been destroyed after the 4th talismans. Nico saw the rope hanging, and sped up. Nico aimed the red flame talisman on a loose overhanging tree root sticking out near the center of the crevice wall. The root caught on fire, lighting his way. He grabbed onto the rope and climbed to the top. The manacentipede shot another acid ball toward Nico. Nico pushed his legs against the cliff to evade and released a different talisman. The black flame shot toward the bottom, but it missed. The manacentipede aimed another acid ball, but this time toward the rope. The rope snapped. Nico dropped. He quickly performed a galeforce on his feet and kicked into the cliff to propel him upward until he could reach the rope that were still connected to the tree above. Nico exited the crevice and landed on the forest surface. He took out another talisman to prepare another attack. He waited, but couldn''t hear any movement coming toward him. He felt the manacentipede retreating. Nico exhaled in relief. Well, now I know that I''m faster than that thing, I just need to be careful of the gooey ball thing that shoots out. Nico returned to the dorm and recorded his experience in a journal called Manabeasts, Vol. II. He had a Manabeasts, Vol. I stored in the farm with all the data he had collected on the manabeasts in Lindan Peak. He returned to the small crevice the next following days to practice using Saturn, and continued to gather as many data as possible about the manacentipede. In Full Bloom Professor Stance walked out from the administration building, feeling a little sense of accomplishment. It had been years since he checked his mail and fulfill his duties. He finished the paperwork assigned by the Academy and left the building to continue his research. After aimlessly walking about, an unexpected scent reached his nose. "Giopoli flower in full bloom?" This was a surprise for the professor as Giopoli only bloom in the fall. He followed the scent, walking south toward the Nuccen Immediate Dorm. As he approached the back of the dorm, he looked up toward a balcony and stared in awe at the blooming Giopoli. However, the biggest shock was the other manaherbs surrounding the blooming Giopoli. "The balcony belongs to the students?" The professor''s eyes widened in shock. He headed inside the dorm, and knocked on the door. A chubby teenager looked at the elderly professor and bowed three times. "Hello student, my name is Professor Stance. May I ask if you are the one growing the manaherbs in the balcony?" The boy shook his head. Professor Stance went on to the next dorm, still no luck . "I was sure it was the fifth balcony from the left." Professor Stance continued knocking doors. If the professor had any sense of direction, he would have known that it was the fifth balcony from the right. Professor Stance reached the 11th dorm room from the left and knocked. A blond hair boy opened the door and looked at the elderly man in a purple robe. "Professor?" Ashe bowed three times. "Hello student, my name is Professor Stance. May I ask if you are the one growing the manaherbs in the balcony?" "The manaherbs?" Ashe looked out toward the balcony. "They are my roommate''s." "Is your roommate here?" Asked Professor Stance. "No, he''s hunting in Arango Forest." "Do you know when he will return?" "Probably in the afternoon." "May I have his name?" "Nico of Rinlin village." Professor Stance vaguely remembered the name. "Thank you, may you leave him a message that I will come back around three?" Ashe nodded. "Thank you... And... You are from the Hartlet clan?" Ashe mouth slightly jarred opened. "Yes, my name is Ashe." "I have read one of your essays, keep up the good work." "Thank you Professor." Ashe bowed respectfully. Professor Stance turned around, looked to the right and then the left of the hallway, He decided to leave from the right. Ashe looked to the balcony and at the blooming Giopoli. His roommate had been cultivating manaherbs ever since they had moved into the dorm. Manaherbs weren''t easy to care for. They were picky in the amount of water, sunlight and nutrients required. From observing Nico daily routine, he could see that each plants had received different amount of water and nutrients as though he could tell what the plants needed to grow. When he had asked Nico about it, Nico didn''t even know the names of the plants. It was odd for someone to know so much about manaherbs, but don''t even know the most basic information. Nico was busier than usual, and Ashe wondered if he even slept at night. Academy students were a strange bunch, so Ashe didn''t think too much about it. Vincent would also disappear for days. Jack probably had the most consistent hours. Ashe closed the book he had finished reading and walked to the student hall. It was still early, and he wanted to practice a couple of spells. He didn''t want to fall behind Nico and Vincent. It annoyed him that he couldn''t defeat Nico, who was a complete novice. Granted, Nico was a better fighter than a lot of the students he had fought against. Spells were difficult to cast, but with practice, casting time could improve. In addition to proficiency, the most important factor in casting speed was a person alignment. If a person aura naturally aligned with water, they could naturally form water spells faster. For Ashe, he had the Aqua Fox and naturally aligned with water spells. The Hartley clan was known for their powerful Nine-tail Fox, commonly inherited by the next head of the clan. Unfortunately, other than his grandmother, no one in his generation had inherited the spirit. With no apparent heir, there were tough competition between the members. Ashe was not the strongest fighter nor the strongest magician, but he was known as the most diligent in the clan. However, being diligent was not the criteria for the next clan head selection. If he wanted to get ahead, he needed to prove his worth. As he walked inside the student hall lobby, he saw Anya arguing with a group of girls. "Look you low class bitch, we register for the court already," one of the girls complained. She was a green robe, and naturally felt superior to the blue robe girl. "We all know you''re removing our slot as petty vengeance for last week." The other girls of five banned together. "Whether I''m low class or not, people should already tell by the way you speak," Anya sniped back. "Your appointment is at 9, but it''s already 11. You''re more than two hours late and you expect the court to be free?" The red-haired girl in the middle narrowed her eyes, and her maid immediately raised her hand. Slap! Anya braced herself and took the slap. Although she was in the right, she was still a student association member, and needed to show restraint. "This is your second warning," Anya temper rose a notch and clinched her robe tightly. "I don''t care if you''re the princess of Gordon. If you want a slot, you must register and arrive on time like everybody else." Anya stared at the maid. "As for you, I will report you directly you the student association. If you dare touch me again, I''ll exercise the defense clause and break you arm, got it?" "Hmph, as if the association is able to do anything," The maid wanted to see if the girl have the guts. She raised her hand to slap Anya again. Slap! Ahh!!!! The maid screamed. Just as she was about to hit Anya, an unexpected force had pulled her hand and she had slapped herself. The princess sensed the power source and turned back to look at the approaching boy. "Tsk, tsk. Ashe Hartley, it''s unusual for you to step in," the princess sneered. "I guess birds of the feathers really flock together." "Oh Princess Toria, you''re pretty vicious as usual," Ashe retorted back. "The semester is just beginning and you''re already bullying the students. Your reputation precedes you." "You''re really planning to go up against the princess because of a commoner!" The maid asked. "Don''t forget the Hartley clan is just a Gordon citizen." "Oh, I don''t dare to go against The Princess and the Gordon Empire, but I want to see what this princess can do." Princess Toria glared at Ashe. "I can do a lot more than you." "Only because you have started with more." "If I recall correctly, my ranking is higher than yours." "This lowly one does not think I can surpass Princess Toria in terms of resources. But if I recall correctly, you have lost the last time we have sparred." Princess Toria looked annoyed. "Lina, let''s go, I''m tired of being around peasants." The princess and her entourage left grudgingly. "Thanks for your help," Anya gave a slight bow. "Is everything going to be okay?" "Well, it''s fine. Toria can be bratty and domineering, but it''s all for show," said Ashe. "How did you end up crossing her?" "We were finalist for the student association, and they chose me over her. The association clearly wanted someone new to represent the incoming students. She has been trying to pick a fight ever since." "I see. Has she been causing you some trouble?" "Not anything that I can''t handle." "You''re being ostracized and that''s why you''re hanging out with us?" asked Ashe. Anya widened her eyes, she was surprised he had figured it out so quickly. She thought for a moment. "Are you also being ostracized?" "Yeah, same boat." They both laughed. Ashe remembered his purpose here. "Can you book me a training court today?" "Sure. It''s a little busy, but two o''clock should be fine. You can come right after lunch at Killo." "Thank you!" Killo Restaurant Inn was a hot spot for many students because of its proximity to the school and quality of the food. The tables were always filled with students and instructors. However, Busho always reserved a table for Nico and his friends. Ashe and Anya arrived to the restaurant, noticing that Nico, Jack, and Vincent was already seated. "So, anything this week?" Asked Ashe. "8000 APs," Jack proudly announced with eight fingers up. "So you have 5500?" Ashe quickly did the math as APs were divided up between party members. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Nope, spent it all on a cultivation technique." Jack glanced at Nico. "Nico got more manaherbs." "Yep." Nico had 500 APs left. "That reminds me. A Professor Stance stopped by and asked about your manaherbs," stated Ashe. "Professor Stance?" Nico remembered the elderly man from the library. "He''s coming back then?" "Around three. I don''t know of any Professor Stance in the school though, he''s not listed, so you should be careful." "Maybe an emeritus?" "It could be." "Professor Stance is Vice Dean Constantine shortened name," Anya chimed. "Heh, you mean the Vice Dean Constantine?" Ashe was surprised. He had been in the school for six years, but had never met the man. "He rarely ever leave the Professor Hall." "How would you know about that?" Jack asked Anya. "It''s simply a guess. The Academy wouldn''t just randomly have a professor on campus unless they are listed. There are too many security risk." "I''m just surprised you already know so much about the school," said Jack. "My dad have prepared me for this school ever since I was four," Anya saw Lulu approaching. "Ah, Miss Lulu! Beautiful as always!" "All right dear, what would you like for lunch?" Lulu asked Anya first. "You glutton, we were here first. Wait your turn!" Jack wanted to order first. Ashe shook his head, they were all going to get the food at the same time. The all ordered the special, which arrived within 15 minutes. While the students were eating, two men sat in the corner eating a simple meal. The men were dressed in plain clothing, but most high level practitioners could tell that they weren''t regular people. Nico wondered why they were watching their table from afar. He could only think of two associations that would take an interest in him, the Fishman Gang or the Fenrir Shop. They could also be interested in his roommates. They two men left shortly after finishing their meals. After lunch, everyone dispersed. Nico headed back to the dorm and meditated while waiting for the professor. The professor appeared later that day, a little after 3:30pm. As the door opened, the dark hair boy he had meant in the library greeted him. "Yes, Professor Stance?" "Ah, you''re Nico?" Nico nodded. "You''re interested in my manaherbs?" "I am a bit. Do you mind if I come in?" Nico let the professor inside and they walked to the balcony. Junior jumped on top of Nico as Snowy sniffed out the guest. "Silver Lupines?" Professor Stance guessed. "Is that what they are called?" Nico asked. "I am not quite sure either, I''m not a beastologist. They are also still young, so it would take another 6 months before they grow out their distinct features." Professor Stance refocused his attention to the manaherbs plotted around the balcony ledge. "You find manaherbs clippings and regrow them?" Professor Stance could tell from the growth pattern. "Yes." "Most of these plants are from the Eastern region. You''re from Rinlin? Did you have any guidance to help you grow these plants?" Nico shook his head. "Haha, no." If he had a teacher, maybe things would have been easier. "Just farming on my own. It''s mostly from experimentation to see what works best for each plant." Professor Stance shifted his round glasses as he inspected the other plants. Each pot had a tag. The tag indicated the date it was clipped, the amount of water and the amount sunlight it needed. Some older labels also indicated the type of soil it prefer. A newly written label indicated the names. "Hm.. interest," Professor Stance nodded with approval. "You have done your own experimentation in the amount of sunlight and water needed?" Nico nodded. "How long have you been experimenting?" "Since I could remember?" "Are you sensitive to mana around manaplants?" "Is that common?" "It is a highly prized talent from students with Wood or plant type spirit roots. From what I''ve heard, you have a Chaotic Spiritual Root. Chaotic Spiritual Root can be a bit chaotic... It''s difficult to predict their nature." Nico could tell the particularity of manaherbs and even regular plants because of Minko''s vision. If the symbols increased more the following day, it was likely due to a of a change in regiment. In other words, he was sensitive to mana, but only at night. "I am in need of another assistant, are you interested in helping out?" Professor Stance was interested in the manaherbs, but he was more interested in talented people. "Hm... What does an assistant do?" "Take care of the garden once every two days." "Are there any benefits?" "Every time you come in, you can take one clipping." It was a good deal. "How about, every time I improve the growth of the plant, I get an additional clipping in exchange?" Nico bartered. "Ahahaha!" Professor let out a low throaty laughter for the first time. "This is the first time someone barter with me. It is fine. Would you like to see the garden first?" "Sure!" "All right, take the cubs with you." Nico carried both Snowy and Junior. "Hang on tight." Professor Stance grabbed Nico''s right shoulder and leapt up into the sky from the balcony. "Whooaa!" This was Nico first time seeing someone fly. Nico wondered how powerful the professor was to fly. Nico stared down at the campus from up above. It felt like being on a glider, free-falling from the sky. Nico noticed they were heading away from campus. "Uh, professor, where are we going?" "Professor Hall." "Professor Hall is the other way." Professor casually turned around toward Professor Hall. The garden came into view. It was located in the center of the Professor Hall''s courtyard. Professor Stance landed softly on the ground and released Nico from his grasp. Nico surveyed the rows of plants, laid out similarly to a commercial greenhouse. "Whoa, there must be at least a hundred different species." "These are all the herbs collected by the professors and students of this Academy. It''s protected by an array and each plants have its own setting to fit their needs." Each plant specimen was separated by either a white or black glass box. An irrigated system measured each amount of water necessary. Nico eyes followed up the tree in the middle of the garden. It wasn''t a large tree, but one of medium height. "Professor Stance, welcome back." A young woman in red robe tending the plants noticed the professor and bowed deeply. She eyed the youth the Professor had bought along. "Professor, this is?" "Elmara, meet Nico," Professor Stance introduced. "Elmara is one of my full-time assistants." "Hello miss Elmara," Nico gave her a slight bow. "Hello." Elmara stated curtly, it was neither rude nor friendly. "We are going to check the progress of the manaherbs growth." Professor Stance led the way. Nico inspected each manaherbs. They were all growing well and the instructions on each box detailed when the box should be blackened to emulate night and when it should be whitened to provide full sunlight. "The feeding schedule is based on where it was acquired, books and years of research." Professor walked around with Nico trailing behind. "Do you think these could be improved?" "Maybe, it takes some time to experiment whether the amount is right or not." Professor Stance nodded. "So, are you interested?" "Sure!" "All right, you can start anytime, but once you start, you must come in once every two days. I have three other full-time assistance. I will let them know to expect your presence in the garden. You may only enter from the front." Professor Stance pointed his finger at Nico''s badge and it glowed. "Your credentials have been registered. If you have any questions, just ask my assistance." "Professor, I have a few questions." "Yes?" "What is that tree in the middle?" "Hm... That is a mana-apple tree," Professor Stance stated. "It''s still young and won''t bare fruit for another fifty years." "Fifty years!?" Nico didn''t know much about trees, but he was sure that was a crazy number for a tree to bare fruit. "Are the fruit rare?" "Extremely," said Professor Stance. "Unlike other manaplants, manatree can''t be grown from cuttings. It must start with a seed. Even more frustrating is that it will only bare at most three fruits. Afterward, the lumber could be used for staffs and wand making." "I see." "Do you have more questions?" "I train after class, so is it possible for me to come at night?" Professor Stance nodded. "Great!" Nico was ecstatic. He had exchanged APs for the missing ingredients required for the Plus-One Pill. If he could use the resources from the garden, he could easily create five sets of ingredients and complete the next task. Combat Team Jack hurriedly back to the dorm, hurdling through the obstacle of students, and almost slamming into the unsealed door. Once he entered the dorm room, he saw Ashe meditating on his bed and Nico feeding Snowy and Junior some manacores. Vincent had been training and absent from the dorm for a couple of days, even missing out some of the lectures. "Everyone!" Jack cried out to them. Ashe opened his eyes, looking slightly peeved for being interrupted. "Yes?" Ashe asked coolly. "We''ve made on the shortlist for Professor Clemson''s combat team!" Jack shared. "What!" Ashe sprung up from his bed. "Who is on the list?" "I said EVERYONE!" Jack repeated. "You, me, Nico and Vincent. Oh, and that Anya girl too." Ashe was shocked as the combat team was very selective. There were usually only 32 students on the short list, and only twelve students could join the combat team. "What is the combat team?" Nico turned his head, but his hands were busy petting the twins. "I have no idea, but everyone seemed to be impressed!" Jack stated proudly. "Cool!" Ashe slammed his hand into his forehead, his roommates were idiots. "The combat team is basically the team that represent the Windel Academy in the competition against other academies in Kinbarl. The competition starts in the second semester after summer break." "So we fight against other students?" asked Nico. "Yes, against students from our age group. Professor Clemson is the coach of the junior youth division combat team consisting of 13 and 14 years old students." "So it''s a tournament style competition?" "Yeah, there are solo and group rounds." "Do we get anything if we win?" "The winners will receive a Terror Manacore and 100 gold pieces." Nico didn''t feel too excited about the rewards. "Ah, wait, this continent is also called Kinbarl?" Jack and Ashe both stared at Nico in disbelief. "Wow Nico, it''s no wonder I did better than you in geography and history," said Jack as he slapped Nico in the back. "You should try attending one of the lectures." "Who the f*** has the time?!" Nico retorted. In addition to cultivating, Nico had been reading about the different fields of magic, learning different magic spells, working as an assistant to Professor Stance and going off to Arango Forest to study the manacentipede. The only chance he got to sleep was the 3 hours during the Academic lectures. Geography and history may be useful, but they were the lowest on his priority list. The only thing Nico had learned during the school year was that the name for the world was called Darbi, after the goddess of creation. However, different empires had different names based on their culture. Nico used the word Mana-Earth to describe the world. While Ashe schooled them about the combat team, several top rankers in green robes assessed the combat team shortlist. There were the usual suspects in the top 50, but there were also unknown names on the list. "The Four Heavenly Kings are on the list, surprised, surprised," said one of the green robe students. The Four Heavenly Kings were the first four rankers of their age group, all foundation staged students. The Academic Branch set up a stall with information sheets. They sold information for the Academic Branch budget. "Come right up! Come right up! Get your pamphlets everyone! 5 silver pieces for valuable information!" Cried Xavier from the stall. He was one of five students selling pamphlets for the Academic Branch treasury. "Valuable information on the top ten in the next combat team tryouts!" Some of the rich students were curious and bought the pamphlets. 1. Hobin Lancet- Dark Sword Warrior - Professor Aseroth 2. Prince Keras Kelsera- Raging Sun Magician - Professor Tessa 3. Sir Ian Camber- Lightning Tiger Warrior- Professor Aseroth 4. Juliana Pinaton- Winter Ice Archer- Professor Aseroth 5. Baron Randall Carrigo- Earth Turtle Magician - Professor Tessa 6. Obi Conway- Metal Hammer Warrior - Professor Aseroth 7. Marcus Yulu- Shadow Dagger Scout - Professor Aseroth 8. Norick Nomer- Green Earth Tanker - Professor Aseroth 9. Princess Toria Gordon - Fire Staff Magician - Professor Tessa 10. Ashe Hartley - Aqua Fox Magician - Professor Tessa "Hobin and Prince Keras were on the team last year, so it''s obvious they will make it in this year," the students speculated. "Juliana and Sir Ian will likely make the team. This will most likely be a competition between the green robes in Professor Aseroth and Professor Tessa''s classes." "Ooh, that''s going to be interesting to watch. When is the tryout?" "It''s a week before the semester ends." "Who''s Vincent, Jack, Anya and Nico? I''ve never heard of them?" "Have you been living under a rock? Vincent is the new ace in Professor Aseroth class. I heard he''s getting a green robe before the end of the semester." "Seriously? Well, I''m in the Magic Branch, so it''s not like we pay much attention to the Cultivation Branch students." "Oh right, I have heard of him. He''s the one that pissed off Sir Ian the other day?" "How did that happen?" "Apparently Vincent took his seat and completely ignored Sir Ian. You know Sir Ian''s personality, he has to have it his way, or else." "Geez, this new kid sure is ballsy, or just dumb to go against the House of Camber. How about the other three?" "Never heard of them..." The students in Professor Quin class remained silent. No one wanted to talk about Nico defeating them. It was embarrassing to lose, but to lose against a blue robe student was shameful. "He''s on the list," Corby spoke quietly to Badan. "How do you think he will do against the elite kids?" "I overheard Professor Quin talking to him about being a berserker," Badan replied. "Who knows how he will do against them." In a room on the fourth floor of the Duccen Immediate Dorm, a foundation staged student in red robe sat before a large mahogany desk and read through a report. Underneath his red robe was a royal purple tailored jacket lined with gold. Standing next to him was a man in light armor. A green robe student entered the room and knelt before the desk. "Your highness, the tryout for this year combat team have been released," said Obi, a tall muscular boy with auburn hair. "You may rise," Prince Keras, the 4th Prince of Kelsera, didn''t seem too interested. "Anyone unusual on the list?" "There are more commoners on the list." "Hm?" Princes Keras nodded. "I am assuming Vincent is one of them. He''s being trained as a magic knight. It''s one of the toughest roles to fill, but it is also the most useful. Professor Clemson will likely add him on." "What sort of team do you think Professor Clemson will build this year? Last year, from the cultivation branch, we have four warriors, two scouts, one archer and one tank. From the magic branch, we three magic dealers, one support and one healer." "It will be similar. Professor Clemson favors combat offense and quick victories." "Your highness, have you heard that there might be a berserker this year?" Prince Keras eyes shifted toward Obi. "Really? A pure offensive fighter? Professor Clemson is probably thrilled. What''s his name?" "Nico, he''s studying the Chaotic Devil Cultivation Technique." "It will be interesting then. I really want a good team this year." Obi noticed that Prince Keras was distracted by the report. "Your highest, you''ve information from father?" Obi asked. Prince Keras slowly nodded. "General Tairun has sent spies over to the Teragin Empire camp. So far, they are sending scouts to Mindan Peak. It''s one of the most dangerous areas, so he''s cautious about sending people out." "Are you concerned about another beast attack?" asked Obi. Prince Keras shook his head. "No, General Erju has arrived at Fort Hendrix." Obi knew that General Erju was the Crowned Prince Kember closest ally. Prince Kember request to send out General Erju was an indicator that they had some intelligence on the Teragin Empire plans. It won''t be long before the 2nd Prince Kalvin makes his move. Although Kalvin didn''t have much military backing, he had many advisers supporting him. Stolen novel; please report. In an elaborate room across the courtyard, a maid served tea to a princess. "Princess, you have made it on the combat team shortlist," said Lina. "Of course," Princess Toria yawned and continued drinking tea. **** After a week of kiting the manacentipede, Nico had a good idea of its weaknesses. The mana-centipede was weak against Green Wind Talismans and Yellow Fire Talismans. Green Wind could cause a little bit of damage and stun it briefly. Yellow Fire Talismans could cause a large amount of damage. Nico had prepared a dozen talismans for each of those two types. Aside from finding its weaknesses, Nico had fully analyzed the structure of the gooey slime ball. He suspected that the acid was poisonous, and wasn''t planning to replicate the spell anytime soon until he had an antidote for it. He kept three jars of the acid. The structure of the acid in the jar changed everyday, indicating that its effect was weakening. Nico left early in the morning on the 7th day of the week. The contribution hall had officially released a mission regarding the Karkardo, the manacentipede sleeping within Arango Forest. Unfortunately, they had restricted gathering stage students from applying. Nico walked into the South Launtel Hunter Guild. As a student of the Academy, he was automatically given membership into the Hunter Guild. The Hunter Guild was created more than a thousand years ago, with the purpose of protecting humanity against manabeasts attack. The party of hunters reviewed the mission that had appeared recently, the disposal of the Karkardo in the Arango Forest. Disposal missions were one of the most common types of missions in the hunter guild. The purpose was population control and extermination for city expansion. Since the hunters could keep the carcasses of the manabeasts, the missions were also popular. "I can''t believe there is a terror in the Arango Forest, how are we supposed to hunt with that thing there?" One of the hunters complained. Manabeast terrors were not taken lightly, and it was the main reason why the Academy had barred parts of Grisham Range from regular people. Others were thrilled. "This is great! There''s only one terror, so it''ll be a lot easier to hunt than at Grisham Range. I''m ready to collect the 100 gold pieces." Many experienced hunter groups hastily prepared to track down the manabeast terror before the Academy could nab the Karkardo. It was rare to find a single manabeast terror isolated from other terrors. Nico sat by the bar counter. The Hunter Guild''s bar area only sold house ales and information. The registration clerk was the heavy woman named Norma working the bar. Despite her barmaid appearances, she was a 4th stage Foundation expert. "Hey kid, looking to start work already?" Norma asked. Norma had registered Nico into the Hunter Guild the week before. "Yes ma''am!" Nico gave her his best toothy smile. "What a charmer, but you won''t get free information from a smile," Norma commented. "What sort of work are you working for?" Aside from disposal missions, the Hunter Guild regularly posted mission requests from other members. The requester would give money in exchange for protection, manabeasts parts, and miscellaneous jobs that only practitioners could handle. "Just looking," Nico scanned through the list of missions. Nico noticed two men walking in with their faces completely covered. He had seen it before in the streets, and found it odd that no one said anything. "Is it normal for people to walk around like that?" Nico wondered. "You will be surprised, but it''s common," Norma answered. "Most people like to keep their identity a secret. There are some places that will restrict their access unless they have special identity tokens." "What sort of identity tokens?" "One either granted by the kingdom or guild halls." "I see," Nico found the Karkardo''s mission. "Can I register for this one?" "Pssh!" Norma laughed with amusement. "Are you crazy kid?" "Is it restricted?" Nico wondered, the Academy Contribution Hall had a restriction. Norma knew that Nico was thirteen when he gave her his identification document. It wasn''t unusual for cultivators to look older than regular folks. The Hunter Guild also had an age limit, but only for registration. Usually, there were no restrictions for the missions. "It''s not, but it''s not an easy mission to handle," said Norma. "A party came back heavily injured the other day and another one lost some members." "So there must be a lot of hunters looking for it already." "Yep." "Can I still get a slot?" Each guild hall had 10 slots available for each mission. Registration for a slot meant that the Hunter Guild officially hired the hunting party to seek and destroy a manabeast. Aside from loaning weapons, information was also shared without the need to pay the guild. "Unfortunately, all slots are taken," Norma replied with a shrug. "When is the next slot available?" "Next one in two days," said Norma. "Deadline is seven days." "Any party looking for an extra party member?" Most missions were limited to six members in a party. Norma hesitated to answer. There was a party with five members registered, but the party was led by Harrick, who didn''t have the best reputation within the city. They were known to steal manabeasts from other parties. "There''s Harrick party, but I wouldn''t recommend the party," Norma explained. "They are not the most pleasant people to work with and Harrick is the leader of the Fishman''s Gang." "Fishman''s Gang?" Nico had an encounter with them before at the Killo Restaurant Inn. "Is that the guy with a gold tooth?" "No, that''s the vice captain. Harrick is ten times worst. You should avoid them if you can." "That''s too bad, I guess I''ll wait until next time." A week later, Nico loaned out a horse and galloped toward the Arango Forest. It had been only two weeks since he began horseback riding, so he couldn''t go to fast. It was still enough to get him to Arango forest around 9am. Once inside the forest, Nico slowed down and entered the area. He was familiar enough with the location of the small crevice that he didn''t need Snowy or markers to lead the way. Nico noticed more markers on the trees. The rumors of the manabeast terror had enticed more hunters to Arango Forest. Up further ahead was Prince Keras and his party. His party consisted of three knights, one magician, a scout, and Obi. The scout named Oryan led the way, arriving to a crevice leading down to the Karkardo. Oryan was one of the three Vice Captains of Marsien Mercenary Group. He was hired to lead the Prince into the Karkardo''s hideout. Oryan was an early Knight stage cultivator that specialized in knife combat and reconnaissance. "Sir Valgan, the Karkardo nest is located below," said Oryan. "We need to brace ourselves for the terror and the other hunters." Sir Valgan, the knight stage cultivator in light armor, nodded. Other hunters were often worse than the manabeast terrors. They prepared their equipment and lowered down into the cavern. It was daytime, but barely any light made it through to the cavern floor. Oyran lit an oil lamp and gave them to Obi. Oryan watched the lady magician in the back effortlessly cast a light spell. She''s good, Oryan thought. Everyone remained silent as they walked through. The smell of dead carcasses from manabeasts and humans propagated the air. It nearly caused the prince to choke. He wasn''t the delicate type, but the odor was strong. As they continued through the rough path, they noticed debris and cut marks that indicated earlier battles and disturbances. Oryan stopped the party as soon as he sensed the monster. He had scouted the area before, and knew how dangerous the manabeast terror was up ahead. It was not a simple manabeast terror to handle. Karkardo Oryan had first scouted the area with his boss, Gafney, a few weeks ago. Gafney and Oryan led a party with five other Marsian Mecenery Group members, all late foundation stage practitioners, into the Arango Forest. Most of the members were familiar with hunting terrors in Torken Forest, located in the lower valley area of Grisham Mountain Range. Hunting terrors required at least two weeks of preparation. The Marsian Mercenary Group was one of the few capable of leading a party to hunt terrors. Hunting party hunted during the day when most terrors were asleep. Terrors slept together in packs, but once in awhile a rare stray would roam around alone. Those were the most prized terror a hunter group could encounter during the day. Unfortunately, even a single manabeast terror could give a party of late foundation staged practitioners trouble. Scouting and researching the manabeast terrors weaknesses were the first step any good hunters should take if they valued their lives. Information on manabeast terrors were expensive, and Gafney team specialized in both hunting and gathering information. Although they don''t normally scout the Arango Forest, they were interested in the lone terror. Gafney was one of the first to hear the rumors and immediately investigated with his party. The party worked together to locate the crevice leading to the rumored manabeast terror. One member stayed above while the six members hoisted themselves down the cavern. The odor drifted up from below. Oryan surveyed the cavern entrance. Leftover bones and chewed up flesh scattered throughout the rocky ground. Oryan looked wearily at Gafney. Gafney nodded, there was a manabeast terror up ahead. A manabeast that liked to hide underground indicated that it was either an insect type or a rodent type manabeast. Rodent they could deal with, but insects were tricky. What was even more concerning was the traces of poisonous acid on the wall. Oryan held the hanging oil lamp, took the lead and continued further inside. The magician also cast a dim light spell from behind. Oryan didn''t like to carry the oil lamp, but it was the only way to navigate through the cave. The party carefully moved through the stalagmites. Oof! One member almost slipped on fell. Something rushed toward their way. "S***!" Oryan sprang backward and ran off. Their movement alerted the beasts sleeping inside. "Karkardo up ahead! Flee now!" Cried Oryan. Oryan took out the talisman and shot one toward the charging Karkardo. Everyone in the party quickly took out their talismans and ran off toward the exit. The Karkardo shot an acid ball toward the party. Gafney quickly pulled out his saber, dodged the acid ball, and jumped toward the Karkardo. He charged directly into its head. Clank! Gafney jumped back away, then twisted and spun his body, slashing the saber toward the antenna. Clunk! "Hit the antenna!" Gafney commanded. Reese, the magician of the party, pointed his wand toward the creature. A purple fireball flew directly toward the Karkardo. The Kardardo dodged. "It has good reflexes," commented Oryan. The party used the hit and run tactics as they fled the cave. Mid-way to the exit, Gafney attacked the antenna again. He was sure two of the Karkardo''s force barriers were broken. After striking the antenna a couple more times, Gafney slashed one of the antennas the third time. The antenna broke apart and the Karkardo squirmed violently. Bam! The tail whipped Gafney, knocking him into the cavern wall. Gafney felt two of his force barriers dispersing, and quickly jumped back up and followed the rest of his party. If a gathering stage practitioners were hit like that, they would immediately die from the heavy blunt force trauma. He quickly grabbed onto a robe and kicked himself up the cavern in one leap. He was the last to leave. Once above ground, everyone remained on alert. "Boss, what should we do?" asked Oryan. They were not familiar with hunting Karkardo. "We won''t be able to handle that thing for now," said Gafney. "Reese, did you gather the poison?" Reese, the magician of the party, nodded. "I''ll contact the Alchemy Guild to see if they can analyze the poison." The Karkardo''s tail strike and whiplash were powerful and deadly. It could shoot out powerful acid that could easily erode a person''s armor and force barrier. Gafney and his party were selective. They only deal with terrors they knew they could handle. The Karkardo was not something they could handle. They needed to gather more information. Unfortunately, the information on the Karkardo was closely guarded by everyone, including the Alchemy Guild. No one were unwilling to share the information. Gafney kept the location to himself, but he was sure other hunters will find the location and the rumors will spread about the manabeast terror. Gafney instructed Oryan to lead different parties to the manabeast terror. Not only could they watch other parties strategy and gather information about its weaknesses, Gafney could earn a good amount of money from leading the way to the secret cavern. The parties that hired them were even less willing to share the location, so Gafney wasn''t too concerned about revealing the location. However, nothing could remain a secret forever. Gafney wasn''t too interested in competing over a single manabeast terror. There were other terrors he could hunt with his party. He found more amusement watching other hunters clamor over it. **** Oryan watched as Prince Keras and his party continued on. Oryan had already provided the Prince and his party with information and the antidote, with a fee 15% more than what Merci had charged them. It was the end of their deal. Oryan continued to watch over Prince Keras and his party. They were close to the Karkardo''s sensing range. Prince Keras and his party alerted the Karkardo, which immediately charged at the intruder. The lady magician in Prince Keras party signaled everyone to remain still and silent. The Karkardo rushed in, but suddenly slowed down. It lurked around near Prince Keras''s party. Karkardos were blind creatures, and could only sense movement. It weaved around the cavern, trying to find the prey. Did the humans leave? It wondered. The Karkardo closed in on Obi. Obi slowly held up the oil lamp, lighting up the Kardardo''s antennas. The antennas were both recently destroyed. Prince Keras and the magician named Ilona surveyed the Karkardo. Ilona was a well-known beastologist and recognized that the beast as a Geophil Karkardo. She signaled Prince Keras and the team to leave. They needed to make more preparation. She also had a feeling that striking first would reveal some information to the Marsien Mercenary Group. Prince Keras nodded and the party slowly exited the cavern. "So this is the famous Ilona of the Evangild Clan," Oryan thought. He had heard of the name and her reputation, but to see her make the decision for the Prince''s party was interesting. Oryan followed them out. As they reached the top, they were surprised to see a masked figure waiting on top of a nearby tree, alone. No one traveled into a manabeast''s infested forest alone, unless they were a lord stage practitioner, or suicidal.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The masked man, with his face completely covered from the front to back, stepped down from the branch and landed next to the tree. An assassin? Sir Valgan and the knights prepared their swords. Oryan and Prince Keras'' party surveyed the masked man. His clothing was dark and tight fitted hunter clothes, and wasn''t entirely black like most assassinations. He didn''t operate like an assassin. Instead of coming toward them, the masked man unloaded his leather bag and prepared his own equipment to travel down the cavern. It looked like he was also hunting the Karkardo. The knights loosened their guards. The general policy for hunting, if you don''t mind me, I won''t mind you. If there was an issue, a fight would quickly alert the surrounding manabeasts. "Your highness, don''t you think the man is a bit unusual?" Obi asked, as the man lowered himself down the crevice. Prince Keras wasn''t sure, and looked to Lady Ilona and Sir Valgan for advice. "I can only sense gathering stage energy coming from him," Sir Valgan rubbed together his little chin stubble in thought. "However, to come this far into the forest alone, it is almost impossible." "I agree, his eyes are too calm for a gathering stage practitioner," Lady Ilona nodded. She watched the mystery man disappeared below the crevice. "It''s not his first time heading below." "How many lord stage practitioner hunt alone?" asked Prince Keras. While the percentage was astronomically low, in terms of numbers, there were a lot of lord stage practitioners in the Kelseran Empire, but most were well known. Also, most lord stage practitioners were above 50 years of age. "His physique seems very young," said Lady Ilona. "But if he really is an expert above the knight stage, it will be difficult to tell his real age." Although they wanted to tail the masked stranger, they also didn''t want to piss off a powerful figure. They returned to the city. In the meanwhile, Nico reached the cavern''s floor. His boots, recently made by a shoemaker, gave him an additional 8cm of height. His new hunting suit was very common hunting clothes and had no distinct features. The mask, which he had made himself, was modeled after a ski mask with black silk lining covering the eyes. The mask also had patting on top to add 3cm to his height. He didn''t like to wear the mask, but there were too many things he didn''t understand about this world. Nico cast the light spell and charged in. He was confident he could handle the Karkardo. The Karkardo sensed the intruder and prepared itself. This intruder was the worst type of intruder. It was the type to hit and run. The Karkardo had lost so many antennas the last two weeks fighting with this human pest. It had decided to kill this intruder once and for all. Charging toward the intruder, the Karkardo launched its pincer attack. Nico braced himself to jump and leapt over the Karkardo''s head. However, the Karkardo faked its pincer attack and turned its tail to fight instead. Nico jumped to evade, but the tail whipped from the right side toward him. Nico aimed the green whirlwind sword at a 45 degree angle out toward the Karkardo''s tail, stunning the monster and propelling him up toward a hanging stalactite. Nico hung on for a moment and then shot out three Talismans toward the Karkardo''s already shortened antenna. One antenna burned into ashes. The Karkardo screamed and whipped around chaotically. Right before it settled down, Nico free-fell from the top and directly aimed himself toward the Karkardo''s jagged and toothy mouth. Glush! The bluish blood from its tongue and mouth spattered into the air. Nico backed away right before the Karkardo slammed its pincers together. Nico jumped forward and slashed using galeforce, cutting between the Karkardo segmented parts and repelled himself back to avoid another violent aftershock from the long swinging body and thorny legs. Nico unleashed two more talismans toward the Karkardo. Rawr!!!!!!! The Karkardo wailed violently, swinging its body into the cavern wall. Nico jumped from side and side to avoid the falling stalactites. Boom! The Karkardo body collapsed, but its legs continued to move mechanically as though it was still alive. The running legs stopped and silence returned. Nico approached the Karkardo''s head, cut open the mouth until he could locate the manacore. The manacore was the size of a pea, but it felt heavier than the manacores he had seen from a regular manabeast. Nico stored the manacore away and checked his mission status. The task box for the manabeast terror had increased by one. Nico surveyed the area again, there were three corpses around the Karkardo''s cave. The corpses were barely recognizable. Their heads were chewed and corroded, with deep maroon and dried blood covering their once cream complexion. Nico looked through their belongings and took out a couple of bank notes and talismans, heavily stained in blood. The loosely shredded clothing easily fell apart, revealing the leftover organs the Karkardo disliked and left behind. There was nothing else valuable except for their swords. Nico burned the corpses and gathered them into an empty jar. He created a little stone marker for them and proceeded deeply inside. If Nico senses were correct, the Karkardo was guarding its nest. Nico moved his light next to a giant webbed ball as big as a room in the farthest corner of the cave. Nico surveyed the twenty-five large eggs bundled together. Nico destroyed one egg. The task for the manabeast terror tallied up by one. "These eggs are really considered manabeast terror?" Nico thought. He wanted to know how strong they were when they hatched. Nico destroyed three more eggs to complete the task. Congratulation, Kill 5 Manabeasts Terrors Task, Complete. Receive Roulette Coupon. Tasks: Plant and Harvest 1 Manafruit. 0/1. Reward: System Reward. Create 5 Alchemy Pills. 0/5. Reward: Roulette Coupon. *New* Kill 200 Manabeast Terrors. 0/200. Reward: Roulette Coupon. *New* Create 5 Inscriptions. 0/5. Reward: Roulette Coupon. Nico looked at the remaining 20 eggs. Nico contemplated on what to do with the eggs. Should he destroy half the eggs for the task and keep the other half? He wanted to examine the eggs in detail, but he couldn''t carry all ten out. The eggs were around 50cm diameter and were heavy like a car. He could carry five back to the dorm, but there wasn''t any place to keep them. Nico thought about his old room at the Killo Restaurant Inn. It was big enough, but what would happen if the eggs hatched? He wondered if the Darbi Blessing was enough to protect the inn. Maybe he could leave three eggs to hatch here, take one back to the inn, and keep two in the dorm. Nico proceeded with the plan. Nico destroyed fourteen eggs and buried three around the cave. Luck will decide whether the eggs would survive or would be taken by the other hunters. Nico clicked on the roulette coupon and waited for the system to select his reward. Receive Cure-All Spell. Beef Pastries After he returned from Arango Forest, Nico had rented out his old room for the semester to store some items he had made in advance for the Fenrir shop, a segment of the Karkardo shell, and the Karkardo egg. He felt bad for killing a lot of rabbits to test the cure-all spell, but it was necessary. Unfortunately, the cure-all spell recipes used on humans were very different. **** Jinson Day, a day of celebration for everyone in Kelsera, including the Windel Academy. On the same day 574 years ago, the Empire of Kelsera was formed under the leadership of Jinson Kelsera. With the day off, Nico arrived early to Killo Restaurant Inn and attempted the Beef Pastry for the first time. He had prepared pieces of manabeef tightly wrapped in a triple layer of paper to set its shape overnight. He removed the paper, then quickly seared the manabeef fillets in a hot pan with a little mana-olive oil for 45 seconds until it was browned all over and rare in the middle. He removed them from the pan and left them to cool. He then chopped the manamushrooms and fried in a hot pan with a little olive oil and the manathyme leaves. When the manamushrooms begin to release their juices, he continued to cook over a blue flame for about 10 minutes until all the excess moisture has evaporated and left with a manamushroom paste (known as a manaduxelle). He removed the manaduxelle from the pan and left to cool. He cut the pastry in half, placed it on a lightly floured surface and roll each piece into a rectangle large enough to envelop one of the manabeef fillets. He used the purple ice talisman to chill it. After laying a large sheet of paper on a work surface, he placed 4 slices of manaham in the middle to create a square. Finally, he spread half the manaduxelle over the ham. Using the paper, he rolled the manaham over the manabeef, then rolled and tied the paper to get a nice, evenly thick log. He brushed the pastry with egg wash, removed the paper from the manabeef, and then wrapped the pastry around each manaham-wrapped fillet. He trimmed the pastry, brushed all over with the egg wash and used the green ice talisman to chill it. In the meanwhile, the assistant helped to make the red wine sauce. Once the pastries were prepared, he scored the pastry lightly and brushed with egg wash again. Nico placed the pastries into the stone oven, and used black flame to bake the pastries until they were golden brown. Nico served the pastry on the dish.... .... .... No response from the system. What the f****!!!! Nico wanted to pull out his hair, he had worked so hard. This is a failure! I have all the right recipes and my flames are correct!! What kind of b***** recipe is this!? "Stop spacing out! Bring me the food!" Mumu demanded. Nico gave Mumu, and everyone else the pastries. "Oh my f***** goddess! You''ve been hiding these from us!?" Cried Anya gobbling up the pastries. "Why didn''t you make us the food sooner?" "It''s okay," Nico wasn''t happy the system didn''t give him a grade. Mumu bit into the pastry, shaking his head and crying at the same time. "This is like a volcano on Grisham highest peak with its molten lava of deliciously cooked manabeef inside. Only thing preventing this from being complete is the wine sauce." "Oh!" Nico pounded his fist to his palm. "You''re right! But shouldn''t wine sauce be considered an add-on like the side dishes?" "You amateur!" Mumu snapped. "The wine sauce is inherently a part of the beef pastry. You might as well call it beef stuffing!" "But I don''t have an extra pair of hands!" "Blah, then let me do the wine sauce next time!" "You can cook!?" "Shouldn''t that be obvious?" "You should quit the academy and work full time as a chef!" Jack requested. Mumu teared up with happiness, madly nodded and agreed. "The academy is worthless! If you cook for me everyday, I''ll teach you something useful!" "What do you know?" asked Nico. "Hee hee, you have to promise me first." Nico narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Mumu. "You''re not going to teach me something useless like how to be a crazy loon?" "Of course not!" "How about after we finish the pastry?" Nico actually wanted to consider, considering the strange vibe Nico sensed coming from Mumu. Nevertheless, he wasn''t sure he if wanted to cook everyday. Everyone dispersed after lunch. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.Nico still had extra Talismans he would like to sell. Walking into the Fenrir Shop, Nico looked at any available new inventory. "Little Nico! You finally came again," Manager Bosin greeted him for the first time Nico wondered what was different about today, none of the managers paid him any mind. "Yes, I was busy for the past two weeks with school." "That is to be expected for an Academy student. Are you looking to buy or sell today?" "Probably both. What new items do you have today?!" "You are in luck! We finally acquired a special distribution deal with one of Nil Eda''s inventions, have a look!" Manager showed off the new instrument with eight different crystals. Each one could produce a different sound. "These are the latest craze amongst the bards!" As interesting as it was, Nico wasn''t interested in music. Sensing the lack of interest, Manager changed the topic. "Ah, little Nico, are you selling more talisman today?" "Yes, I only have a few today." Nico took out ten Fireball Talismans. Manager took the talisman. "Young Nico, the head manager would like to meet with you, is that all right?" "The head manager?" Nico was wondering how long it would take them to notice his talismans. "Sure." Manager Bosin took Nico to the second floor. Nico saw a young woman finely dressed in green dress with an extremely confident air. Manager Bosin bowed politely to the young miss. "Young Nico, this is Miss Merci, the head manager of the shop," Manager Bosin introduced. "Hello, Miss Merci," Nico bowed. "Hello Mister Nico," Merci eyed the boy. He wasn''t that much shorter than her, and had a face that was easy to forget and blended into the background. Merci could understand why Manager Bosin couldn''t remember the boy. "Have a seat." "Thank you," Nico took a seat across from her. "I have been hearing many compliments about your talismans. Do you make them yourself?" Merci went straight to the purpose of her invite, she wasn''t the type for small talk. "Yep," Nico nodded arrogantly and proud. "You''re quite confident in your ability. Are you interested in a business deal?" "What sort of deal?" Nico wondered how much Miss Merci knew about him to make such a deal so quickly. Miss Merci presented Nico with a contract around ten pages long. Nico scanned through them briefly, not because he was a quick reader, but because most of the jargon was beyond his understanding. Does Kelsera have lawyers? Nico wondered. The lease contract was so much simpler than this. "Can you summarize the main points of the contract?" Nico questioned, still exuding a confident air. Miss Merci thought the kid was cute, pretending to be all confident. "Fenrir Clan would like to officially hire you as a consultant for the Fireball Talisman and the healing balm jars. In return, you will receive 25% of the profit." "So you want the recipes for all the items?" Nico pretended to think. "Unfortunately, I already have a better deal." Miss Merci narrowed her eyes. "From another shop?" Miss Merci had not seen it in her report. She wondered if it was the Jantillo or the Camber. "Name their price and I will add 5% to it." "40%." "40%! Fine, you can have 45%." "Miss Merci, I apologize, it''s 40% for them and 60% for me." Merci glared at Nico, he was obviously baiting her. "You little brat, you seem to be prepare for this contract," Merci looked remembered Nico''s small shop. "You''re preparing to open a small shop in Rinlin? And you''re planning to expand here?" "I wouldn''t say expand, I just need another distributor. Either you help me, or I will help myself, the end goal is the same," Nico needed more money if he needed to complete the system''s tasks, which he anticipated becoming more difficult in the future. "I''ll give you 65%, but you must have an exclusive contract with us for anything you plan to sell in Launtel City and the central region." Nico didn''t have many options. He didn''t have connections or the time to handle a business, and his financing skills was lacking. He left most of the Ollie Shop planning to Shirley. Shirley had hired villagers to create a basic version of the healing balm, and Wundron was in charge of distribution around the eastern. However, he needed the Fenrir Clan''s assistance to expand across the central region. "You have yourself a deal," Nico took the contract. "I''ll review this first and send it back to you the following week with the recipe for the healing balm." The 301 Nico walked up the thirty-six large bluish granite steps leading up to the main entrance of Pendin Hall. Inside the large and chandelier lit lobby, there were several registration tables set up for the different field of studies. Nico registered for the herbology test. He had been going to class and studying additional information from Professor Stance, Elmara and the other assitants. Although Elmara seemed cold, she answered all of Nico''s questions without any hint of irritation. After a few weeks, she suggested that he attempt the testing tower. With his current knowledge, he should be able to attend Herbology 301, where students began formal practice of Alchemy. Although Nico had a general idea of what was required for creating an alchemy pill, he did not have the practical experience to attempt the One-Plus Pill. He needed to be especially careful since many of the ingredients were expensive and difficult to attain. He stood in line and waited to take the test. There were ten people ahead of him, but the line moved quickly. As soon as one person entered the door, another person immediately entered. When it was his turn, he walked up to the tower entrance. The door was similar to the dorm room, it had no knob or key. However, the door was decorated with an elaborate engraving. His badge glowed as he approached the door and he willed it to open. He entered the round tower, but there was nothing inside the 5m x 5m space. The door shut from behind. The stone walls and soaring tower disappeared, leaving him in an empty open space. He felt like an astronaut looking beyond the galaxy. Suddenly, questions appeared and floated everywhere in the boundless space. Nico read through a question. As soon as he thought of an answer, the question disappeared and a new question appeared in its place. Nico had no time to think about what was going on, he simply answered as many questions has possible. Afterward, the test stopped, the tower reappeared and the door opened. The proctor outside instructed Nico to leave. "Eh? It''s over already?" Nico walked out the door, a bit confused. He appeared on a other side of the tower. The room was a large lobby that opened up to the rear courtyard. He saw a crowd of students looking at several large bulletin boards. The bulletin board for Herbology blinked and the order for the ranking reorganized itself. The orders were constantly shifting like the numbers on Wall Street. Nico had moved up to #8870, allowing him to attend Herbology 301. Suddenly, it moved down to #8871. "Mister, if the board shift like this constantly, how would I know my ranking?" asked Nico. "It''s common for students to take the highest ranking for the semester," the proctor replied. "You had #8870 right? Then that would be your ranking. There would naturally be many people with #8870 ranking as well. Only the top 100 students are ranked according to the latest ranking order " "Ah, I see," Nico nodded. Afterward, Nico signed up for the Sigillogy test. On the 1st day of the week, Nico walked into the Herbology 301. Some of the students looked suspiciously at Nico, who stuck out like a blue balloon in a sea of green robes. "What is a blue robe doing in Herbology 301?" "Who''s the kid?" Asked green robe student. "Don''t know, is he lost?" asked another green robe student. "Hey you, are you lost?" Nico was pretty sure this was Herbology 301. "Herbology 301?" The student who asked nodded. "Y''all annoying," complained a rough looking student sitting by the corner of the lecture hall. "He obviously belongs in the lecture hall if he could pass through the doorway." Nico looked at the doorway, it was enchanted like many of the doors in the school. Nico hadn''t tried entering a lecture hall that he wasn''t allowed in. Nico sat down. "It looks like we have another blue robe in the 301 class," commented a student. There''s another blue robe? Nico thought as he looked around. There were green robes and even red robe students of all ages, very different from the 101 classes. Just as he was scanning, a blue robe student walked in, and Nico recognized him. "Xavier!" Nico called out and waved. "Ah, hey! Hey! You''re Nico, right?" Xavier seated himself next to Nico. "Wow, I didn''t know you''re in Herbology 301 as well. Or did you just pass the test?" "Yeah, I passed the test two days ago," Nico responded. They watched as the seat filled up. Unlike the 101 class, there were only thirty students in the 301 lecture hall. Professor Wenlet looked sternly at the student. He began exactly when the clock struck nine. "We will briefly review last week lessons, anyone remember the first step of Alchemy?" The professor asked. "Refining." One of the students answer. "Yes, the first step of Alchemy is refining the raw materials. The next step?" "Amalgamation." "Yes. Amalgamation is the mixture of different refined materials. Many people uses the layman term mixture. And what is the last step?" "Solidification." "Good, you have been paying attention. R.A.S. is the three main processes of alchemy. Today, we will review them in detail. Let''s look at the process of refining the Ratagon and Julipo, the two main ingredients for strength based pills. Does anyone know the the primary shadow symbol found within the Ratagon and Julipo?" Silence. "You should have memorized these manaherbs in 201. Ratagon consists of approximately 70% Zu shadow symbols and the Julipo consists of 60% Zu shadow symbols. The purpose of refining is to remove the unnecessary symbols within the herb until only the main shadow symbols remain." A student raised her hand. "Professor, why would we need Ratagon and Julipo when they both have the Zu shadow symbols? Couldn''t we make it simple and just use the Ratagon or Julipo?" "Good question. This is the primary lesson for Sigillogy 301, but I will briefly explain. Although they both contain Zu shadow symbols, the formation and structure of the symbols are different. How different, we aren''t sure ourselves. Now then, back to the lesson. In order to refine the ratagon, we need to use the black flame. And for the Julipo, we need the blue flame. This is one of the reasons why cauldrons are important. A poor cauldron have 1 flame setting and a good cauldron have 3 flame settings. The three main flames used in alchemy are red, blue and black flames. This process is repeated until all the ingredients are refined. The next step is amalgamation. It is the process of combining the refined ingredients and adding enough flame to melt the ingredients together. This is where magicians excel over cultivators. Magicians can use their aura to manipulate the heat and speed up the process. Solidification is a natural process of maintaining the flame until a pill is formed. A successful pill may take hours or even days to complete. That is why alchemist have partners to maintain the flame or excellent grade cauldron to run the flame for a long period of time. Even when a pill is formed, there are still high chances of it becoming defective." "Professor Wenlet, why do we only have one formula available in the school?" asked one of the students. "Since pills are important trade secrets and extremely valuable, many formulas and methods are not distributed. It is a closely guarded secret protected by the Alchemy Guild. The Alchemy Guild protects Alchemist rights and handle many formula transactions. We will begin experimentation next class, and it will be on the sleeping pill, so make sure you study the formula." Xavier and Nico both waited for the next class, Sigillogy 301. "I heard from Anya that you, Vincent and Jack made it in the Academy," Xavier conversed. "But I didn''t think you would enter this class so soon." "You made it in as well!" "Well, I have been studying from the famous Kelseran Library ever since I was little. My parents help run the place, so I have the opportunity to read a lot of books." They watched as students walked in and out. As two more red robe students entered, everyone stopped to stare. A tall stern looking student walked in with a pretty student. "Oh my goddess, that''s Hobin and Juliana," the students fawned at the two incoming students. "Wow, can''t believe we are seeing the academy royalty." "Are all the red robe students treated as royalty?" Nico asked Xavier. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "Just them two, they are two of the youngest foundation stage students in the Academy." "Where have I seen her before?" Nico thought as he examined Juliana. She had high cheekbones, long black hair, and light blue eyes. Nico was sure he never met her before. "Who is that?" "Juliana Pinaton." "She''s a Pinaton?" Xavier nodded. "Isn''t she from your hometown?" "I''ve heard of her, but I''ve never seen her before." Juo had reddish hair and dark eyes, but his facial features did bear some resemblance to Juliana. Juliana walked toward her seats, ignoring all the other students as though they were non-existent. "Oh my gosh, she looked at me!" One of the boys gasped. "Pssh, yeah right, in your dream." Hobin walked her to an empty seat, but she also paid little attention to him. "She''s really different from what I''ve heard," Nico commented. Juo had always called her a little brat, so Nico thought she would be a lot younger. "She''s the goddess of the academy," Xavier explained. "From the moment she entered the school, Lady Tessa wanted her as a student. Her spirit is a bow and arrow, so the Cultivation Branch had been trying to recruit her. The Magic Branch probably offered her a better deal." It wasn''t the first time Nico hearing about the rivalry between the two branches. "What''s with the competition between the Magic and Cultivation Branch? Does it really matter? It''s just the libraries that are restricted." "There''s more to it than that. A lot of the teachers belong to either the Magician Society or the Cultivator Society. They have a long history of fighting. Always trying to prove what method is the best." "There''s no in between?" "After graduation, almost all practitioners become a hybrid of some sort, but still specializing in either magic and cultivation. The few that open both auras and meridians in equal amount are called Failed Practitioners because their level are very low and they can''t compete on the same level as cultivators or magicians." "But that means high level practitioners can use magic and cultivate?" "It''s usually a magician that have some meridians open to assist with their magic or cultivators with some auras to assist with cultivation techniques. Juliana can use strong magic, but uses a bow and arrow as a secondary weapon. She''s a very good archer. She''s already being recruited by the Kelseran Empire. Hobin is even more impressive. He''s the magic swordsman, his Obsidian Edge sword is enhanced by his use of aura." "You sure know a lot." "I''m writing a book, so I need to do a lot of research. The Hunter Guild has a department that deals with intelligence gathering and regularly publish the top twenty Big Shots." Xavier stopped talking as soon as Professor Wenlet looked at him. "Professor! He''s new, I am just explaining to him the previous lesson," Xavier explained. Professor Wenlet presented the next lesson on Sigillogy. Nico missed the first few lectures, so it was a bit confusing. Xavier explained some of the concepts in between the lessons. "Talismans are important to learn, as it leads to a better understanding of Egos," Professor Wenlet orated. "Egos are another form of mana?" Nico asked. "Egos are basically man-made mana construct that performs a contain task," said Xavier. "Alchemy pills are made from Egos that enhance the body. There are also Egos that program crystals to perform a certain task such as voice and light manipulation. These are what you see powering the projector and speaker crystals." "No wonder. Whoever came up with these are geniuses." "All these knowledge are accumulated through centuries of research by magic scholars. In today research field, the most famous is probably Scholar Nil Eda. He is my idol. The projector and speaker crystals are both his invention. It was developed five years ago, but since they are extremely expensive, only wealthy clans, royalties and academies have them. " "I see, so I guess you are planning to be a scholar?" "Yep! Although cultivators and magicians are prized, scholars are also valued because it takes a full time scholar to understand and develop new Egos. Scholars often collaborate with magicians and cultivators to form new manacrystals." Nico was learning something new everyday. "Ah, so that''s why mineralogy has its own field of study." "Yeah, mineralogy is very difficult though." Nico was still learning about the different minerals in the 101. Nico turned his attention to the next portion of Professor''s lecture, it was a topic he was familiar with, talismans. "We will practice making talismans next class," said Wenlet. "You should by now have memorize all the 108 shadow symbols and at least 150 different personas symbols. These knowledge will allow you to create talismans. For a demonstration, Hobin, would you like to volunteer?" Hobin nodded and stood up. He walked up to the front and sat down before a desk lined with many different equipment. "Before the demonstration, can anyone tell me the three equipment needed to make a Talisman?" "Manapaper, mana-ink and a quill," said Xavier raising his hand. "Correct," said Professor Wenlet. "We will attempt to create the Windbreeze Talisman. Hobin, start writing the persona symbol." Hobin inked in the Windblade Talisman on the parchment. His stroke was slow and deliberate. One stroke.... Two stroke... Three stroke... Why is it so slow? Nico was starting to fall asleep by how slow it was taking. It took eighteen strokes to finish the persona symbol. It''s ugly, Nico thought. "Beautiful!" Professor Wenlet praised and clapped. "Now add the four shadow symbols of pa, cu, vin, and min. Min is a seal based shadow symbol that is required to seal the magic in the talisman." The process of adding the shadows took almost the entire class time. In the meanwhile, Professor Wenlet described the steps of adding each shadow symbols. "Form the shadow symbols with your aura. For cultivators, using spirit force is possible, but it is twice as slow. For Hobin to be on par with a magician says a lot about his talent." Finally, Hobin completed the Windblade Talisman. "Good job," Professor Wenlet held up the finished talisman for everyone to see. Wenlet pointed the talisman to the window and activated it. A light breeze opened the window. That''s a talisman? Nico thought. "This Windblade Talisman usually takes an hour to make for apprentice talisman maker. Hobin did an excellent job for a beginner. I hope you will also succeed next lecture." By the end of class, Nico had a better understanding of the magic used in this world. "Thanks for explaining some things," Nico said as he walked out with Xavier. "Wanna go out for lunch? Anya, Jack and Vincent will be there as well." "Sure!" Nico brought Xavier along to Killo''s Restaurant Inn. "Xavier, heard you made it in the Academy!" Jack welcomed Xavier to their table. "So you guys eat out here, no wonder why I don''t see you guys during lunch." "Cafeteria food sucks." "It''s not that bad on the 2nd floor," Ashe had been up there before. "I''ve been trying to find you guys after I heard you all made it on the combat team shortlist," Xavier got out a notebook. "Why?" Asked Jack. "I have data on most people except for you guys. It''s for research." "Don''t talk to me about it. I''m so nervous my stomach is killing me!" Anya complained. "This is even worst than the exam." "How the hell did you make it on the list anyway? I''ve never seen you fight before," Jack wondered. Anya gave him an ugly look. "Just because you haven''t seen me fight, doesn''t mean I''m not good!" "Then are you good at fighting?" "You''ll see." "You probably got in just because you hang out with us. Not a single dorm can brag that all the roommates are on the shortlist." Jack loved to brag about everything. Pak! Ashe whacked Jack in the back. "Hey!" Ashe ignored him and looked at Anya. "We''ve never asked you about your spiritual root," Ashe wondered if that may be the reason. "It''s a Light Mirror spiritual root." Jack laughed. "Pssh! What can it do?" "Want me to show you instead?" Anya asked. "Hey, doesn''t that sound like a challenge?" "It can be. You''re up for it?" "You''re on!" Threes a Crowd Anya and Jack stood on the opposite end of the Student Hall''s battle court. Anya held onto a 50cm short sword while Jack carried a 30cm Bowie knife they have loaned out from the student hall. Ashe, Vincent and Xavier watched from the side. Xavier prepared his his journal and quill to record the match. "I guess I will officiate this match," said Nico. Ashe would probably be biased and Vincent was being Vincent. "On the count of three. One, two, THREE!" Exactly on the third count, Anya released a spell. Jack was momentarily confused. It gave Anya enough time to charge directly at him. "Is that a spell?" Nico wondered why Jack didn''t attack. "It looks like a Scramble spell," said Ashe. "It''s use to delay an opponent attack." As Anya slash across, Jack instintly dodged to the left right before impact. Anya continuously swung her swords. "Hey! You in the magic branch hack!" Jack shout ed. "Stop attacking with swords!" Anya continued slashing her swords. "You''re an idiot! Who said magician can''t fight with weapons!?" Anya attacked, forcing Jack in the defense position. "Why isn''t Jack fighting back?" asked Ashe. "The Bowie knife reach is shorter than Anya," Nico explained. "He''s surveying Anya fighting style first before attacking." "He should have picked a longsword." "He probably never used one before. And besides, Bowie knife is more flexible and fits Jack fighting style. He can''t move really quickly with a longsword." Anya slashed from left to right as Jack dodged with his acrobatic flips. Nico noticed Anya was using the same attacks. "Why isn''t she varying her attacks?" "She can''t, she''s in the middle of casting another spell," Ashe replied. "She has to concentrate on that, so it''s easier just to default on one move." Jack suddenly made a strike. He guarded the short sword, and closed in on Anya. Just before he strike, he saw another flash and froze. Anya used the opportunity to strike three times into the force barrier. Jack cuff turned white. "Victory for Anya," said Nico. Jack shook and knocked his head to clear the light spots in his eyes. "That''s so unfair, I felt like I was frozen forever." "Just two seconds," Anya responded. "Is it just sort of mind control?" "Scramble is classified as an illusion spell. I''m not particular good at it yet. I can freeze a person for less than a second if they are far. If it''s within range, the spell could last for 2 seconds." "Wow, that''s actually useful," said Nico. "Can you exchange one illusion spell? Let''s say for ten manacores?" Anya laughed. "You know I''ll be expelled from the Magic Branch if I do that." Jack patted Nico on the back. "Good try buddy." "Well, it was worth a try," Nico was only kidding, but he really wanted to see what an illusion spell could do. Even then, replicating a spell from sight was difficult. Nico spent a little more than a week watching the manacentipede shoot out poison acid before understanding its structure. "Hey! Get off the court already!" A group of three green robe students walked along the side of their courtyard. "Sir Fredrick, we still have 5 minutes left to use the court," Anya eyed them cautiously and responded. Anya was well aware of Sir Fredrick reputation. He was regular on the second floor, but due to the combat team tryouts, many students had been reserving the courts to spar and practice. "Oh, well, well, isn''t it miss Anya?" Rooney, one off Sir Fredrick''s entourage, leered. "I heard you have made it on the combat tryout team as well," Sir Fredrick commented as he surveyed Anya''s body. "I wonder what sort of favors you had to give for that position." Anya shivered. "If you don''t mind, we would like some of the favors," said Salaon. "How about a three-way or four-way?" Sir Fredrick added. "F*** off Fredrick," Ashe jumped down the battle court. "Oh, the sissy boy is here too," Sir Fredrick smirked. "I guess sticking with the lesser humans make you feel high and mighty now." "And how is the great Sir Fredrick feel being on the first floor? It seems you have the short end of the stick if you couldn''t even reserve a court on the second floor," Ashe sneered. "At least I can go in and out freely. I can''t say the same about a wimp who is too afraid to enter the 2nd floor." "It''s time, we should leave," Anya whispered to everyone. "Hey! How about a spar!?" Jack unexpectedly proposed to Sir Fredrick. "A spar? Hmm... What''s the term?" asked Sir Fredrick. "A 3 vs 3 matchup," Jack suggested. "If we win, all of you will have to kneel and we get your hour slot for the court. If you win, we will kneel and won''t ever use the court again. How about it?" The roommates were surprised at Jack suggestion. "I''m in," Ashe didn''t have any objection. "Nico, Vincent, are you in?" asked Jack. Vincent shook his head from the side. He had never sparred with them before, and he wasn''t likely to join. "Why should I?" Nico shrugged, he was sure it was better for Anya to thrash those guys. "Anya should join." Nico also thought the three of them could handle Sir Fredrick and his goons. "Me?" Anya was unsure if she could handle sparring against green robed students. She haven''t sparred against people she didn''t know too well. "You can do it!" Nico cheered. Vincent and Xavier clapped. Jack and Ashe both nodded. "All right then," Sir Fredrick nodded. "We need some punching bags for our practice, you better keep your word about kneeling at the end." Sir Fredrick wondered if Baron Randall will award him with something if he knew Ashe bowed down to him. Jack, Ashe and Anya all gathered near the weapon rack to discuss their strategy. "Fredrick specializes in spear art, so we have a disadvantage right off the bat with range," Ashe knew them the best, and took the lead over strategizing the fight. "Salaon is a decent hammerhead user, but he''s slow. Rooney can cast spells quickly, but his waterblast is pretty weak. You don''t have to focus much on avoiding his spells." Ashe explained to them their attack plans. Jack nodded. Ashe looked at Anya. "Are you good?" "I''ll try," Anya nodded. They requested an instructor to officiate the match. A small crowd of students approached to watch the fight. "Ooh, interesting, a group match." As the students talked, more gathered. "Hm... Between green robes students too! You don''t see this too often on the first floor!" On the court, Anya and Jack stood in front and Ashe remained in the rear. Sir Fredrick, Salaon, and Rooney stood in vertical position, with Rooney, the magician, in the rear. The instructor gave the signal. "Go!" Anya and Jack both rushed toward Sir Fredrick. Sir Fredrick held his ground. Rooney rapidly shot several waterblasts toward Jack and Anya. They effortlessly blocked the blasts. As Jack closed in the front line, he stabbed his knife directly toward Sir Fredrick. Sir Fredrick jumped backward before impact, allowing Salaon to charge in from the right, pinching Jack in between. Ashe''s fireball stopped Salaon attack. Jack sidestepped to the left and countered Salaon. Anya focused her attention on Sir Fredrick, continuously slashing him. Jack knocked Salaon down and charged toward Rooney, took a hit from the waterblast and dismantled the fleeing Rooney. Anya slashes were inactive against Fredrick spear. She Scrambled him quickly and attacked several times. "You bitch!" Sir Fredrick broke from the spell and thrust his spear into Anya. Anya was in a bad position. Ashe aimed a fireball directly at Sir Fredrick. The fireball damaged the force barrier, but it wasn''t enough to stop him. Sir Fredrick overpowered Anya. Anya''s cuff turned white. From the moment Anya was hit, Ashe''s twin ice blades shot out and penetrated into Sir Fredrick barrier from behind. Sir Fredrick''s cuff turned white. "No f***** way, they got Sir Fredrick," the students commented. "Well, Ashe is a pretty strong magician, so it''s expected. I didn''t expect the other two to be so fast." Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Ashe''s third ice blade curved toward Salaon, who was in the midst of defending against Jack. Salaon dodged the ice blade. Jack jumped into a new position so that Salaon was in between Ashe and himself. It took another move to bring him down. By the end of the fight, everyone huffed and breathed heavily. "Whew! That was exhausting!" Cried Jack. "Sure, sacrifice me why don''t ya," said Anya with a smile. "Well, it''s Ashe who''s late," Jack stared at Ashe. "I did say it takes a long time to cast three ice blades," said Ashe. Anya felt so happy. "At least we won." Ashe could see Anya''s hands shaking and patted her head. "You did great." Sir Fredrick and his friends sneakily backed away. Vincent blocked their way. "I believe there is still something you owe them." Sir Fredrick glared at Vincent, but knowing Vincent''s reputation from Professor Aseroth''s class, he resigned. "Fine!" Sir Fredrick and the other two quickly knelt for a second and ran off. You are not going to get away from this! Sir Fredrick promised in his heart as he fled the student hall. "Don''t show your face in front of us again!" Jack yelled out. With the battle court slot in their possession, they continued to spar until late in the afternoon. After their sparring session, Nico returned to the dorm room and laid down in bed carefully. He had snuck in two eggs and hid them under the bed. Normally, weapons and harmful items that were not loaners from the Academy or registered could be detected by the magical barrier. Fortunately, the eggs were able to pass through. According to the Beastology instructor, Karkardo eggs typically took 150 days to hatch. Nico wondered if it was possible to check the status of the egg. The instructor thought it was a good question, and taught the class the process of candling the egg. Candling was the process of lighting the egg in the dark room. The method sounded simple, but manabeasts had tougher shell and required specialized light in order to work. Nico tested out the different light talismans on the egg. The Yellow Light Talisman worked the best. Judging by the dark spot of the embryo form, Nico assumed it was midway in development. It would take another 70 days before it would hatch. However, there was no information about the incubation method, so it was up to the eggs whether they wanted to survive or not. Once on his bed, he opened up the Plus-One Pill recipe box and held up a slip of the sleeping pill formula. Compared to the sleeping pill formula he had received during class, the method for the Plus-One Pill was more precised, but simpler. Before testing the Plus-One Pill recipe, Nico wanted to try the Academy method first. In the next Herbology class, there were fifteen cauldrons set up on the tables. "All right everyone, find yourself a partner and situate yourself in front of a table," Professor Wenlet instructed. Nico naturally looked for Xavier since he was the only one he knew. However, Xavier was late and the lecture hall was already filled, so Xavier had to look for lecture hall. After a few weeks, students naturally settled on a professor they like. With Nico entering Professor Wenlet''s class, the class count was disrupted. Nico looked around for any lone students, but everyone had a partner. Everyone, except for the one rough looking student standing in the corner. The rough looking student stared at Nico as he approached. "New kid, it looks like you''re stuck with me," he said. "I''m Nico, and you are?" "Norick." Nico looked at the table. There was a little cauldron, a scale, and all sort of equipment laid out in front of them. The little black cauldron could hold one liter of liquid. It had a round seal with three colored crystal embedded on the side; red, blue, and black. Nico had seen cauldrons in Fenrir Shop, and they were expensive. The least expensive cauldron with one flame setting was at least 300-gold pieces. The one on the table had three flame settings! "Wow, this is exciting!" Nico fingers and hands wiggled in anticipation. Most of the students in the room were also excited since it was also their first time attempting alchemy. Not only were the equipment expensive, rarely anyone loan them out. "Okay everyone, today we will create the Sleeping Pill. It is the lowest grade pill that is used to assist people with insomnia. The average completion time is 1-hour for an Apprentice Alchemist. I do not expect you to complete the pill, but hopefully by the end of the semester, everyone will be able to form the pill within the time limit." Professor Wenlet examined the set of ingredients in front of him and held up a sprig of Jujuju. "Okay everyone, we will start by refining the Jujuju leaves. First, add two cups of water and set the cauldron to the blue frame. To activate the cauldron, simply use your aura. If you''re a cultivator, touch the cauldron and add spirit force." Nico watched as Norick added the water. He touched the blue crystal and added spirit force. A little bit of spirit force was enough to initiate the cauldron. "Next, add five leaves into the cauldron. Once the leaves are softened, remove the mixture." Norick backed up, eyeing Nico as it was his turn. Nico picked out the five leaves and dropped it in the cauldron. Once the leaves softened, he poured the mixture into a large vial. "Next, one cup of water and ten gram of Manavalerian root with the red flame." Norick cut up the root and Nico poured the mixture in the vial. "Last is the one cup of water and Manalemon-balm with red flame. Once you have all ingredients, mix them all together in the cauldron and let it sit in the red flame. If you can use aura, you can speed up the process by using it to stir the mixture." It was the last piece of advice from Professor Wenlet before he walked around to check on everyone mixture. Nico and Norick followed the remaining instructions and waited for the liquid to evaporate. Nico thought Norick was unusually calm and patient for someone who looked so rough on the outside. "You look big and rough, but you''re not a bad kid," Nico stated. Norick tilted his eyes to look at Nico for a moment, pause, and thought it was funny. "Hahahahaha!" Everyone turned to stare at Norick. "You''re a funny one." Norick patted Nico in the back. "Now I remember you, you''re on the combat team shortlist?" "Huh, how do you know?" asked Nico. "Aside from the top rankers, the unknown names tend to stick out a lot," Norick explained and then looked at Nico. "I''m on the list too." "Oh, cool. That means we''ll probably compete?" Norick shook his head. "Probably not." Norick knew of Professor Clemson tryout pattern. "You didn''t look at the bulletin board?" "I was busy." Boom! Norick and Nico snapped their head toward the front to see the source of the sound. "F*****!!! Damn it, this is all your fault!" An irritated student yelled out to his partner. His mixture exploded, leaving his table and the surrounding area covered in green goo. The student continued to harass his partner until Professor Wenlet asked him to stop. "That''s Lougram," Norick pointed him out to Nico. "He''s on the list too. His father is a baron, so he thinks everyone else is beneath him." Nico didn''t care about Lougram or the nobility. "Do mixture normally explode like that?" "Rarely, but it does happen," Norick responded. "They''ve probably added too much herbs." They talked about random topics until the class end. As Professor Wenlet had expected, no one completed the sleeping pill. Prince Keras and Obi noticed Norick walking out of class along with Nico. They were in another Sigillogy 301 lecture hall next door. "It''s unusual to see Norick with another student. A blue robe as well... And already in Sigillogy 301, that is interesting," Prince Keras commented. "Hm... The only blue robe student I know in the 301 class is the chatty scholar from the Academic Branch," Obi remarked. Prince Keras thought about it. "Professor Constantine has a new assistance name Nico. Keep an eye out for him." Playing Games "Baron Randall, you have to do something about those peasants!" Complained Sir Fredrick. "They have no respect for the nobles. If we don''t make them understand the might of our title, they will treat nobility as nothing more than common." On the balcony overlooking the student hall''s garden, Baron Randall, a green robed students with three stripes, landed a piece of white stone on a go board. His opponent, Marcus Yulu, another green robed student with three stripes, examined the move and began re-strategizing. They were surrounded by a group of young nobles and young clan masters. The noble families sent their children to the Academy to learn the basics of magic and cultivation, but the main reason was for their children to build social relationships and connections with other nobles, clans, and even royalties. "You sure have a lot of time on your hands, Fredrick, getting yourself into trouble with peasants," remarked Baron Randall. "You should hang yourself rather than kneel after losing to them." It was unusual for anyone under eighteen to receive a title, but Baron Randall Carrigo was one of the exceptions. His father was an Earl and a high ranking member of the Pasadine Empire, an empire directly south of the Kelseran Empire. As the oldest son, he was bestowed the title of Baron. The Carrigo Clan was also a powerful clan in the Pasadine Empire, holding onto a lineage dating back to the Kinbarl Empire. After Empire Sharon Paradine successfully usurped the Tesdine Empire 300 years ago, it was mainly due to the support of the Carrigo Clan. "But Baron Randall, it wasn''t just those peasants, Ashe was also fighting!" Sir Fredrick explained. "Hmph! You let that pretty boy beat you up as well? Then you deserved it!" Sir Terrun sneered from in front of the crowd. Sir Terrun was Baron Randall''s right hand. Baron Randall clenched his right hand against a piece of stone and stared into Sir Terrun''s cowering eyes. "I thought I told you to isolate him from everyone else." "But Baron Randall, we''ve forbidden his presence on the 2nd floor!" Sir Terrun quickly tried to excuse himself. "We can''t do anything if he makes connections with people from the first floor." "I want you a find a way to expel him from this school," Baron Randall commanded. "Baron, that might be difficult." Sir Fredrick thought of something. "Baron Randall! We may be able to request help from Sir Ian." Baron Randall looked curiously at Sir Fredrick. "Explain." "It seems that Ashe is acquainted with Vincent." Baron Randall nodded. Marcus raised his brow across the table from Baron Randall, he was curious to hear what these nobles were planning. Marcus was in Professor Aseroth, so he knew what had happened. "I heard the rumors, do you know much about it?" Baron Randall asked Marcus. On the first day of Professor Aseroth class, everyone was scheduled to arrive in the Professor''s private study room, located in the Cultivation Hall. There were twelve seats in the room. The first row, lined with four seats, was usually reserved for the top students. Hobin Lancet, Sir Ian Camber, Obi Conway, and Marcus Yulu would naturally sit in the front. Marcus walked into the dark, but warmly lit room decorated with manabeasts heads displayed as trophies on the wall. It was his first time in Professor Aseroth''s study. The Professor wasn''t there, so he walked up to the front where he normally sat. He was surprised to see the new student seated in front. It was likely that the new student didn''t know about the customs of the school. Hobin was already in their seats, but he didn''t talk to anyone, typical. Marcus sat next to Vincent. "Hey, you''re new?" Marcus asked. Vincent nodded. "You''re Vincent?" Vincent nodded. "I''m Marcus. Just a little hint if you want to survive in this academy, you should sit in the next row." "Are the seats assigned?" "No, but the top students have always sat in front." "So it''s not required," it was all Vincent needed to know, and he didn''t feel like moving. Marcus wasn''t the type to say more than necessary, and waited to see who would happen. Obi walked in and he was also shocked to see a new student. He sat next to Marcus. "Who''s the new kid?" Obi whispered. "Vincent." Obi recognized the name and nodded. "Did you warn him about the seating arrangement?" Marcus nodded. "Ian is last to come again, he''s going to be pissed that his seat is taken." "His fault for not coming in early." At that moment, Sir Ian walked into the room. He moved right in front of Vincent. "Move." Ian commanded and stared down at the new student with arrogant eyes. Vincent craned his neck up to look at the student standing before him. Vincent blinked twice, and then faced the front, looking directly at Ian''s stomach as though there was no one present. Ian grabbed a hold of Vincent front robe, dragging him up from the seat. "Come on Ian! He''s new," Marcus jumped and attempted to defuse the situation. Bang! Ian flew all the way back, knocking into the magical infused wall. Any other type of wall would have been destroyed on impact. Vincent had head-butted Ian and punched him in the stomach right before Ian could attack.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Everyone was shocked by the event, even the top four students. "Holy s***! Did the new student just knock down Ian?" It was one thing to knock down Ian, but it was another thing to see Ian''s head bleeding. The Windel robe and force barrier were supposed to prevent that from happening. "Haha, never thought I see the day when Sir Ian gets his ass handed to him by a newbie," Norick laughed from the back corner. "Quite impressive." Sir Ian glared at Norick, but he prepared himself to charge directly toward Vincent. Professor Aseroth walked in right as Ian got up to retaliate. Looking at the position of everyone, Professor Aseroth could decipher what had happened. "Sir Ian, I would hold off if I were you," Professor Aseroth warned. Professor approached Sir Ian to briefly inspect the injury, and cast a light heal spell. The blood stopped bleeding, but the wound was still apparent. "Go take a seat." Sir Ian wiped off remaining blood from his forehead and stalked his way to the second row. He whispered something to Vincent as he passed by, but Vincent remained expressionless. Vincent did something that everyone thought was unbelievable, his attack completely ignored the force barrier. After rethinking the events, Marcus decided to stay out of the conflicts between the nobles and Vincent''s acquaintances. Marcus didn''t say more than what was rumored. Sir Lougram, sitting by a nearby table, couldn''t resist joining the conversation. "You''re really keeping mum about Vincent''s technique?" Sir Lougram asked Marcus. "I really don''t know much about it, so I would rather not speculate." "What special technique does he have?" asked Baron Randall asked Sir Lougram. "His attacks can ignore force barrier. We aren''t sure about body aura, but assumes that he can also ignore it. We went to train in Grisham Range for a couple of days, and let me warn you one thing, with his technique, he can become a terror to the manabeast terrors." "It looks like I should really keep an eye out for this new kid," Baron Randall placed another white stone on the board. "You don''t really think Sir Ian will assist you just because Ashe knows Vincent?" Marcus asked Baron Randall. Baron Randall chuckled. "Of course not, inflicting harm on the new kid won''t affect Ashe. I''m just excited about more players entering the game." Baron Randall grinned deviously "If I recall, Vice Dean Araba is Ian''s grandfather." Marcus eyed Baron Randall suspiciously. **** Windel Garden was heaven for many magicians and cultivators, as it provided a rich mana filled environment. However, it was also one of the reasons why the garden was restricted by the Academy. No form of meditation was allowed. If a person was to meditate inside the Windel Garden, they would have interfered with the growth of the plants. Nico regretfully sighed, it was such a shame. "Nico, Professor Stance said you can take home another cutting today," Elmara instructed as she was about to leave for the day. Elmara and the other assistants were surprised by how well the manaplants were growing, and it had only been less than a month since the boy Nico had started working in the garden. The changes Nico made to the plant''s regiments were minor, less water here, and more sunlight there. However, they could tell that the overall growth had improved. "Great!" Nico stopped surveying the plant and thanked Elmara. Elmara left, and Nico returned to his survey. Nico had been recording the height and length of each plant every night in a journal. Although it wasn''t necessary, he needed a way to explain how he was able to gauge the growth of the plants. The changes were so minute that most people weren''t able to differentiate. Even Elmara, who had a plant spiritual root, wasn''t able to notice. She could analyze the manaplant health status and diagnose it, but that was the extent of her ability. The other assistants assumed Nico was some sort of crazy plant boy who was obsessed with plants, but Elmara thought that Nico was more methodological in his approach. At the end of the working day, Nico took an extra cutting of a plant. Nico returned to the dorm, and prepared five sets of ingredients and brought them to Killo Restaurant Inn. On top of the inn was a quiet slightly sloped rooftop. Nico had prepared all the necessary items to create the Plus-One Pill. The Plus-One Pill required five ingredients, Kaibera, Topen, Renshaw, Shishio, and Manamarigold. Nico had exchanged APs for the Kaibera. The Topen he had discovered from Arango Forest. The manamarigold he had cultivated himself. And the remaining two manaherbs he had taken as part of his payment while working as Professor Stance assistance. He didn''t have the correct age of the ingredients, but he was sure the amount would be accurate. Unlike food recipes, the amount were units of shadow symbols. He had no cauldron, but he had a large copper stockpot and a grill he had borrowed from Killo Restaurant Inn''s kitchen. As the sun settled beyond Grisham Range, Nico chopped up the manaherbs to best capture the amount of shadow symbols required. The chopped Kaibera plant went in first. "Add Green Rain." Nico said to himself as he took out the Green Rain Talisman and released the rain into the pot until it was half full. Once the shadow symbols loosened and released into the pot, he added the Topen. Unlike what was taught in class, the mixture did not need to be separated out or refined. Nico added the remaining manaherbs one at a time, and used the Black Flame. Nico watched as the shadow symbols formed black manalines. Nico then used the Blue Ice Talisman. A shard ice crystal shot into the pan. Pang! "Crap!" Nico looked at the dent appearing on the bottom of the copper pan. "Busho is going to kill me!" Luckily, nothing was leaking. Maybe he should have bought a cauldron, but the cheapest one was 500 gold pieces, he would be broke if he buys it. Inside the soupy mixture, the manalines began to bind together and crystallize. The recipe had instructions on how to build the structures with the manalink. Instead of using Minko, Nico used the manaring from Saturn to manipulate the structure. Manipulation was easier with Saturn, but the disadvantage was his short range. Nico moved his head closer to the copper pot. The manaring spiraled out from Saturn and into the pot. Nico controlled the tiny spiral tentacle and moved the black manalines to form hexagonal structure. As the manalines continued to form, a honeycomb shaped orb could be seen. Within an hour, the Green Rain water had evaporated and what was left inside was a single ugly pill the size of a small pea. It was too out of shape to be called round. Congratulation, Plus-One Pill Grade F created. According to the recipe, the pill could be ingested. Nico wanted to enhance it with lifeless water, but he also wanted to test it out without the lifeless water for baseline information. Nico thought about it again, it was useless to test for a baseline if every pill he took could weaken to a degree. Nico decided to wait until dawn to use the lifeless water. Nico took his second set of ingredients and followed the same procedure. The only alteration was that he aimed the Blue Ice Talisman up in the air and waited for gravity to drop the shard. He caught the falling shard with a tong and dropped it into the copper pot. This saved Nico the trouble of causing more damage to the copper pot. Before dawn, he gave the twins some instruction. "If I pass out, wake me up in the morning before dawn. If I look dead, go get Busho, okay?" asked Nico. Snowy nodded. Junior was a little slow, and tilted his furry head side to side. Woof! woof! Nico enhanced all the pills. After everything was settled, he ate the lifeless water enhanced Plus-One Pill. As the Plus-One Pill traveled down his throat and Minko took a little nip at it, but the rest was immediately gobbled up by Chaos Manaroot. Status: Manaroot: Chaos 7>8 Mananode: 2 Manaspirit: Midnight Koi 29 Strength: 45 FP: 26/28 Defense: 32>33 Speed: 33 Magic: 39 MP: 74/75 Resistance: 35 Casting: 27 Nico manaroot and defense went up by one. The 2nd pill raised his speed by one, and 3rd pill didn''t have any effect on his status. The 4th pill raised his manaroot and Minko, Status: Manaroot: Chaos 8>9 Mananode: 2 Manaspirit: Midnight Koi 29>30 Strength: 45 FP: 26/30 Defense: 33 Speed: 33>34 Magic: 39 MP: 74/78 Resistance: 35 Casting: 27 Minko wriggled with joy. Looking into Minko''s vision, Nico noticed that the shadow symbols were brighter than before, especially the manalines that ran through all the objects in his surrounding field of vision. When it was almost 9:00am, Nico finished the 5th set. Congratulation, Create 5 Alchemy Pills Task Complete. Nico selected the Roulette Coupon. Receive Elder Wand Recipe. Nico scanned through the recipes with his droopy eyes. It was another complex recipe. Task: Plant and Harvest 1 Manafruit. 0/1. Reward: System Reward. Kill 200 Manabeast Terrors. 15/200. Reward: Roulette Coupon. Create 5 Inscriptions. 0/5. Roulette Coupon. *New* Create 200 Alchemy Pills. 0/200. Reward: Roulette Coupon. He yawned, he better get to class. The Manatree Nico returned to the rooftop of Killo''s Restaurant Inn the following night. He inspected his surrounding carefully with Minko''s new enhanced power. From the vast sky to the building cementitious rooftop, Nico could see the shadows symbols and manalines floating everywhere. Nico watched the wind shadow symbols moved through a regular potted plant. The slow moving shadow symbols floated toward the plant. As the symbols floated through, it slowed down ever so slightly. After another moment, the symbol floated out. Nico was entranced by the particularly of the shadow symbols movement. Nico swam toward the Karkardo egg, nesting next to the potted plant. Again, Nico carefully watched the movement of the symbol shadows. The shadow symbols moved into the egg, some converted into manalines, some stayed and some passed through. Nico had already known that the Karkardo egg were capable of absorbing shadow symbols. The particularly that occurred in the potted plant, also occurred in the Karkardo egg. Nico had always assumed that the shadow symbols were floating and weaving freely around the space and the objects. However, on closer inspection, they weren''t moving as freely as he had initially assumed, they were moving through distinct routes. It was like the world was made up of a complex system of vessels, nerves and meridians. Although he could not see them, he knew they existed. Nico read through the Accessory Enhanced Inspection again. The hundred pages of texts were not simple to understand, but he had a better understanding of it now then he did before. The system defined an accessory as an object that could be worn and used by the wearer such as ring, bracelet, necklace and earring. Since the recipe was for an enhancement, the object must be a manafied object in order for the recipe to work. Manacores were not accessories and even if he had Pesticide, he wouldn''t use it to experiment with. Nico had no choice but to spend 40 gold pieces on a sound crystal pendant. Nico took out a sound crystal pendant he bought from the Fenrir Shop. According to Manager Bosin, the sound crystal pendant could record sounds for 2 minutes. He simply had to activate it with spirit force or aura. Nico stared at the flat round crystal, like an enlarged and green opaque poker chip. It had two distinct sides, the front was inscribed with the Kelseran word, "record" and the back had the word "play." There was a tiny manacore within the pendant. As Minko, Nico activated the crystal from the "record." Suddenly, a large ring dispersed from the crystal. Within the large ring, vibration shadows gathered within the crystal. After two minutes, it stopped. Nico activated the play button, but there were barely any sound. Nico activated the crystal again and recorded his voice. "Hello? Testing. 1, 2, 3." Nico played the recording. "Hello? Testing. 1, 2, 3," the crystal echoed in Nico''s voice. "Whoa," Nico was slightly amused. "No wonder this thing is so expensive. I guess this would be interesting for the people here." Nico looked at the Enhanced Inscription recipe box. "With a manalink, relocate the branch connection from third node to the seventh node. If connection cannot be made, relocate the node to the following three nodes. If the node connection exists in two out of three node, then connect it to..." Nico was going to receive a headache if he continued reading. This was worse than a computer''s troubleshooting manual. Nico painfully explored all the options. After rereading the inscription recipes, he read through the wand recipe, which was more complex and required many ingredients that were near impossible to find, especially the center core of a manatree. He studied until it was dawn. **** "Ah, this is the life," Rooster sat on the wooden dock by the watermill. His fishing pole jutted out along the side with its fishing line moving along with the flow of the river. An amateur fisherman would wrongly assumed that a fish was biting into it. Rooster enjoyed the fresh spring breeze, slowly warming up by the incoming summer sun. Despite not being a farmer, Rooster quite like the lifestyle. "Baa! Ba! Baaaaa!" "God dangnit, those managoats!" Rooster got up and chuck a piece of walk toward their direction. He would roast them up if he had the chance. They were so needy and always hungry for food! Why did they have to eat so much! One of them was growing fat. Rooster left the dock area and refilled the fodder bin. The managoats stopped complaining and enjoyed their meal. After feeding the manabeast, Rooster returned to his home in the village. Rooster passed through the market streets on his way from home. The streets were as lively as usual, with vendors shouting for customers. "Howdy Rooster!" cried the beet vendor. "Fresh beets today! 2 copper pieces for a bushel." Rooster refused the offer. Nico had enough vegetables in the farm to feed him. Spring vegetables were given to Shirley, Hana and some of the villagers as gift. Rooster harvested the vegetables and distributed them per Nico''s request. Rooster entered the KEU Bank outlet. "Hey Chatty, anything from the kid today?" Rooster asked. The little small Bank outlet had three booths, one was for mail. "Yeah, you have a letter," Chatty replied and flew the letter toward Rooster. Rooster snatched folded up letter and opened it. "Why the f*** would you name my goats Hairy, Even Hairier, Fatty and Skinny! I''ll have you know they are Go-one, Go-two, Go-three, and Go-four." "What is he complaining about? His names are worse than mine," Rooster waved to Chatty. "Thanks Chatty." Rooster walked down the streets and headed to the residential district. "I heard you have a guest waiting near your house!" A street vendor yelled. Already? Rooster was surprised. He was only waiting for one person. Rooster returned. In front of the wooden gate was a young man, dressed commonly, although it could not hide his bearing and board shoulder. He straightened up and bowed as he saw Rooster. "Mah, my! My favorite student!" "You say that to all your students," the man shrugged. "How are you Sergeant Warick?" "Why so formal!? If I remember correctly, you''re the one that started the name Rooster." The young man smiled remembering the good old days 15 years ago. Things were different then than it was now. He had changed quite a bit since then. "What are you waiting for Yuer?" Rooster was already at the footsteps of his small home. "Get inside." They walked into a house. The small vestibule led into a small living area with a table and four chairs. Yuer sat down on one of the chairs, and Rooster prepared some tea. "Are you here alone, or with your squadron?" Rooster asked from inside his kitchen. "My squadron is still stationed in Fort Hendrix. I''m here is Rena and our guards." "You''re married?" asked Rooster. Rooster recalled that Duke Magan''s daughter was also named Rena. "Duke Magan''s daughter?" Yuer nodded. "Just recently." It must had been really recent if the news hadn''t spread to Rinlin yet. A duke daughter getting married would have been passed along by the merchants. Yuer likely traveled out as soon as the marriage ceremony was over. "So this should be your honeymoon. Why are you here?" Yuer hesitated to answer. "We might stay in Rinlin for a bit." **** Dantan, one of Professor''s full time assistance, inspected the leaves of the manaherb and recorded its health status in his journal. It was Dantan''s day to watch over the garden. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Dantan raised his head and looked at the incoming boy. "Good evening Nico, you''re early today." "Hi Dantan!" Nico responded back, and then yawned and stretched. Nico had recently woken up. Dantan smiled. He knew that most students, including Nico slept through the academic classes. Although academic studies were important, they could be studied anywhere. Magic and cultivation classes were more difficult to find outside the city. Nico proceeded to work as soon as he entered. He opened his notebook and recorded the growth of the manaplant that interested him the most. He had already increased the growth rate of eight different manaplants. If Nico wanted to, he could easily increase the growth rate of all the plants, but that would attract too much attention. Nico was there mainly to study the plants. "Hey Dantan, do you think it''s strange that mana-tree can''t be grafted or grown from cuttings?" asked Nico. "Did magic scholars find out why?" Dantan shook his head, he wasn''t too sure himself. "Probably because they are sacred." Nico had asked the other assistants the same questions, and their answers varied slightly. "It is believed that manatrees are complex and living beings like humans," said Professor Stance walking into the garden. Both Nico and Dantan stopped their work to bow. "Professor!" Professor Stance nodded. "Now I have a question for you. Do you think another a human could be created simply by taking a limb?" "No, that shouldn''t be possible, humans are much more complex in our anatomical structure," replied Nico using his own logic. But then, what was the logic of this world? "Is it possible?" "We are complex, but didn''t we also start as simple and small structure?" Nico hated when Professor Stance answered questions with more questions. "We did, but it takes nine months of gestation period before our bodies are complete," said Nico. "An apple tree requires only a week." "Do you know the germination period of the mana-apple tree?" Nico shook his head. His herbology studies didn''t include manatrees. "Twenty-five weeks," Professor Stance replied. "That''s almost 6 months..." Just another three months to match that of humans. Professor Stance nodded and posed another question. "What about the typical apple tree cuttings?" Nico thought for a moment, he wasn''t too sure. "Three to four weeks? Maybe more?" Professor Stance nodded and approached the mana-apple tree. He slipped his hand under his long sleeve, pulled out a wooden wand, and effortlessly waved the wand upward toward the upper branch. The ripple from the wand sliced through a branch that fell onto Professor Stance''s grasp. He gave the branch cutting to Nico. "Professor?" Nico wondered if the Professor wanted him to test the branch cutting. "This branch will turn into ashes within seven days," said Professor Stance. "Scholars are unsure if and when it will regenerate the roots. The stronger the item, the more energy and time it requires to survive. For this branch to grow into a tree, it will need food and energy far surpassing what this garden could provide." Nico stared at the half meter of branch cutting with a sense determination. Dantan and Professor Stance left before midnight, leaving Nico alone in the garden. Although Nico was alone, there were still guards at the entrance. They were instructed to allow Nico to carry one item out of the garden. For that particular day, Nico was also allowed to carry out the branch cutting. Nico finished his chores early, and sat in front of the mana-tree. He stared into it for a long time as though it was as interesting as watching paint dry. He was actually studying the different routes and pathways of the tree. He returned to his dorm right before dawn to feed the plants and the tree branch with lifeless water. Nico divided the branch cutting in half, and created two separate environments for the cuttings. One to be placed in partial sun and the other in a more shaded area. He planted the tree branch in the rooting medium. Branch cutting required rooting medium with good drainage made from sand, moss, vinegar and potting soil. After seven days, the leaves on the branches were slowly wilting away. By the ninth day, the branches turned into brown ash that looked like soil dust. Even with the use of lifeless water, Nico was only able to extend it to nine days. "Professor! Why is this so hard!?" Nico complained. Professor Stance was surprised Nico had managed to keep it alive for nine days. "All right Nico, I''ll let you continue to get the branch cutting, but only once in two weeks." "Thank you Professor!" Nico attempted again, but on his next attempt, he ground the manacore into the rooting medium mixture. The branch cuttings continued to survive beyond nine days. Nico moved it into the Killo Restaurant Inn for safekeeping. It was better to pretend that it had died. **** "Are you prepared for the tryouts?" Asked Jack. "What tryouts?" asked Nico. "The combat team tryouts in a couple of weeks." "Why would I want to be in a combat team? It''s not like the rewards are great or anything. I would rather focus on studying." Nico continued to pile more and more work onto his schedule. Ashe stared at Nico. "You can''t be kidding, do you know how important the combat team is?" asked Ashe. "It''s an opportunity to raise the Windel Academy reputation and it is an opportunity to attract the associations interest." "You mean the magician and cultivation associations?" Asked Nico. "What are those?" "The magician and cultivation associations are very powerful entities throughout the continent," Ashe replied. "All clans, royalties and guilds have some sort of connection to them. They are highly secretive and their locations are kept hidden." "Like a secret society?" Asked Nico. "Well, it''s not a secret society if we know about them," said Jack. "Are they powerful?" asked Nico. Ashe nodded. "Very, but we don''t know much about it," said Ashe. "The only way to enter is to become a knight staged practitioner, or catch their attention." Attention was the last thing Nico needed, and he would rather focus on completing the tasks and getting stronger. After three months of studying at the Academy, Nico had reached the 12th level of the manaroot and created two more Saturns in the nodes based on the Chaotic Devil Cultivation Method. On the 10th level, the structure of the Chaos manaroot shrunk, but it became more alive. Nico could sense its presence without using Minko or the avatar box. There was a significant boost in his stats and he felt stronger. Status: Manaroot: Chaos 12 Mananode: 4 Manaspirit: 30 Strength: 49 FP: 34/34 Defense: 36 Speed: 37 Magic: 53 MP: 81/81 Resistance: 38 Casting: 31 Nico wondered if others could sense it too. The most powerful person he knew was Professor Stance. Professor Stance didn''t have much reaction, but after being around Professor Stance for a few months, Nico knew that his reaction didn''t mean anything. Professor Stance was obsessed with his research on herbs and shadow symbols, he wasn''t interested in cultivation and magic. They were only the means to his quest for knowledge. Nico had asked several professors if there was a way to sense other people stages. For the most part, people were unable to unless they had a special ability or equipment. There were two equipment commonly used to test the stages, the first was the halostone and the second was the spirit orb. The halostone measured the overall level and the spirit orb measured the levels of the root, auras and meridians. Before Nico left Rinlin, his halostone number was stuck at 20. His current halostone number was 27. The Tryouts On a beautiful late spring day, students and instructors gathered around the main courtyard. Many of them had skipped the academic classes to watch the start of the combat team tryouts. The main courtyard didn''t have chairs, but it was designed to slope like an amphitheater for everyone. Red robes gathered near the perimeter, closest to the main courtyard. The green robes surrounded the red robes, hoping to curry favors. The blue robes crowded together from the back like packed bottles. Twenty-eight students stood in one neat row, waiting for the official announcement to start. Jack dragged Vincent onto the courtyard 5 minutes before 2:00pm. Ashe followed from behind, carrying a drowsy looking Nico. "Why do I have to attend?" Nico mumbled from the back of Ashe''s shoulder. "It''s not required?" Vincent yawned from behind Jack''s back. He also preferred to nap during the Academic classes. Ashe and Jack had been trying to convince them to attend. In the end, they had decided to just carry them to the main courtyard. A man with short hair and gray temples stood in the middle watched as all thirty-two students finally appeared. All attention was on him as the clock tower struck 2:00pm. He was known as Professor Clemson, a man who had led Windel Academy to one glorious victory in the Kinbarl Combat Tournament. One victory may seem low, but the amount of Academies who have won the tournament could only be counted on one hand. "Congratulations to everyone who have made it onto the shortlist for the Windel Combat team," Professor Clemson announced. "We will have 16 individual matches today. The goal of the match is not only to overcome your opponent, but to display your skills. Even if you lose today, you will have the opportunity to display your teamwork ability for tomorrow partner round. The winner of today''s match-up will select from the losing pool." "A partner round tomorrow?" The crowd of thousands around the courtyard chattered. "Oh wow, Professor Clemson is really going to focus on the team competition this year." "Well yeah, the solo competitions are usually tougher and limited to the top five academies in Kinbarl. The team competition is a different beast, no one can predict what happens in the end." Professor Tessa and Aseroth watched from the top of the clock tower. "He''s really going all out this year," commented Professor Tessa. "President Noshemal is pushing for the team competition," Professor Aserorth folded his arms, flexing his muscular biceps. "He wants another win." In the Academy, Deans were the law and Presidents were the enforcer. "Why don''t you assist Clemson?." "I wouldn''t have the time, I would rather take the Senior Varsity Combat Team." Professor Aseroth was the next in line for the Senior Varsity Combat Team. Professor Aseroth had little interest in the junior division. However, if he took over the Senior Varsity Combat Team, it was likely that these kids were going to be of age when it was his turn. As the names appeared on bulletin, everyone was shocked by the lineup. Professor Tessa sat down on a cushioned chair. She didn''t intend to stay, but the match-ups piqued her interest. "Although Clemson can be a bore, he''s good at creating matches." "Oh my god, there''s something wrong with this day one match-up list, this can''t be real!" The students rambled between themselves. "This is going to be even better than the finals. Did Professor Clemson decide on all these match-ups?" The selected 32 students were also surprised. Most of them was expecting an easy first round match-up or a complete slaughter. Hobin Lancet vs Obi Conway Prince Keras Kelsera vs Baron Randall Carrigo Juliana Pinaton vs Corribal of Opel Marcus Yulu vs Jack of Noshway Norick Nomber vs Tokon of Marla Princess Toria Gordon vs Ashe Hartley Vincent of Renfield vs Sir Ian Camber .... Nico of Rinlin vs Sir Fredrick Nocomo Anya of Levershan vs Sir Lougram Mayley .... These were the match-ups that would occur at the end of the tournament, not the beginning. "Hey! I got that Fredrick guy," Nico cracked his knuckles, someone was going to receive a beating. Looking at the list, Ashe wasn''t surprised he was up against Princess Toria. They both had similar ranking as magicians. "I can''t believe you''re up against a girl and I have to fight with this Marcus Yulu guy, who is he?" Jack grumbled. "Marcus is one of the best scouts," said Ashe. "He specializes in the Shadow Walker skill. Although it isn''t as impressive in fighting tournament, he has a better record than Hobin when it comes to hunting manabeasts. To put you up against him, it''s like setting you up for failure. However, you wouldn''t have done well with Toria either." "How would you know?" Jack had been training extensively to fight magician fighters after he lost to Anya. First round, the officiating instructor called Hobin Lancet and Obi Conway to the battle platform. "Between Hobin and Obi, who would win?" The students asked. "Of course Hobin. A foundation stage cultivator will win 90% of the time against a condensation stage cultivator in a head to head battle. The differences in power in too big." "Yeah, I agree. Obi is the strongest physically within the condensation stage, but up against Hobin, it''s nearly impossible." "Is Hobin the top student?" asked Jack. "Yeah, and he''s been the top student since he entered the Academy," said Ashe. "His Dark Sword spiritual root is very tricky. His Night Blade Slash is very difficult to dodge. When he execute the move, you will see." "And who''s the Obi guy?" "Obi is Prince Keras right hand man and also General Tairun son," Ashe replied. "He will likely join the military after he graduates from the Academy. A Metal Hammer spiritual root is very powerful. It is on the slow side, but the heavy damage more than makes up for it." Obi looked at Hobin. "Looks like we''re up first. I honestly didn''t think it would be against you." Obi already knew his fate. "Same," Hobin responded. "I can''t say I''m excited though. A better match-up would have been between you and Ian, but Professor Clemson probably wanted a weapon based spiritual root against another weapon based spiritual root." "But then you would likely be paired against Vincent." "Yeah, I don''t know who''s worst." Obi prepared his hammer. Hobin unsheathed his single edged blade, the Obsidian Edge, a sword imbued in darkness. An instructor readied the signal for the first match. "Go!" Hobin and Obi both charged. Hobin evaded Obi onslaught of attack. Obi was strong, but the weight of his hammer slowed him down enough for Hobin to eased out of the way. They fought several bouts with no clear sign of the winner. "Your highness, what are Obi chances? The matches are taking longer than expected," Prince Keras''s servant, Nial asked. "Hobin is gauging Obi''s strength to see if it has improved from last semester," Prince Keras responded. "Once he gets into rhythm, he''s going to unleash his attack." Obi swung the hammer toward Hobin side. Hobin leapt above and onto Obi''s hammer. Hobin swiftly cut across with his blade. The force of the blade rippled into the air. Clang! Clang! Hobin''s blade slashed into Obi''s barrier. "But Sir Obi has one of the strongest hammer attacks," Nial was still hoping for a miracle. "Over the two months break, he had been training his Iron Smash Hammer. If he can get a clean hit, there''s a chance!" Hobin enhanced his sword with shadowy spirit. He then slash toward Obi again. Obi countered back with his Iron Smash Hammer. Obi''s arms and chest flexed, and his veins popped from exerting all his energy. The hammerhead levied above Obi''s head and slammed directly toward Hobin. The hammer Hobin slashed back with his shadow enhanced Night Blade Slash. Both were forced back, but Hobin recovered faster and attacked. Clang! Clang! Obi backed away and swung his hammer, forcing Hobin back. Hobin jumped on top of the hammer head, and attacked once more. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Clang! Obi''s barrier indicator cuff turned white. "S***!" Obi had known he didn''t have a chance against Hobin, but to lose so quickly was not a good image. Hobin won. "It''s not an unexpected battle," commented Ashe. "He''s very powerful and strong." Nico noticed that Hobin was leading the entire match, but the worst thing about Hobin was his calm demeanor. Ashe nodded. "His combat sense is good and an all around great fighter, very well balanced." "Well balanced? I''m like that too!" Nico boasted. The next match was between Prince Keras and Baron Randall. The instructor prepared the next match-up between Prince Keras and Baron Randall. Prince Keras stood in position and surveyed Baron Randall. Out of all the opponents, Baron Randall was the trickiest. However, no matter how tricky he was, Prince Keras was well aware of his tricks and won''t easily fall for them. "There''s some irony to this match-up, both are highly influential people and powerful magician," the students commented. "However, Prince Keras specialize in magical offensive spells, while Baron Randall specialize in magical defensive spells." "So it''s an offensive vs defensive spells match-up?" "Well, it would be if Prince Keras wasn''t a foundation stage powerhouse. Although Baron Randall has extremely strong Body Aura, he''s going to be dodging a lot." As predicted by the students, the fight between Prince Keras and Baron Randall consisted of Baron Randall running around and dodging the powerful fireballs thrown at him. Prince Keras fireballs were slightly stronger and faster than Nico''s fireball talisman. However, it took Prince Keras around a minute to recharge. The fireball flew to the left, seemingly missing Baron Randall, but then curved back as though it had a homing ability to hit the target. Baron Randall cast a round magical shield. "So that''s the Turtle Shell Barrier," Xavier explained. "It can block any type of spell. It''s like having another body aura." The turtle shield floated on the right side of Baron Randall, only moving when it had to. Whenever a fireball flew toward the Baron, the shield moved to block the attack. Prince Keras used his magician staff and fired three rounds of fireball toward Baron Randall. Baron Randall dodged out of the way, but the third fireball hits the turtle shell. The turtle shell broke apart. "As expected of the Prince," Baron Randall praised. "Just one shot was enough to break my barrier." Baron Randall began his counter attack, using his own staff to cast two earth spikes. The two spikes spread out, but then curved toward Prince Keras. Prince Keras leapt into the air and then charged directly toward Baron Randall. "Prince Keras is planning to use physical attack!?" Some students were shocked, but others were confused. "I don''t get it," Jack commented. "Turtle Shell Barrier is an ability that reduces magical attacks by 20%, but physical attacks are reduced by 50%," Xavier explained. "So the turtle shell is stronger at preventing physical attack?" "It is. However, look at Prince Keras''s Sunray Staff." Everyone turned to look at the glowing green light emitting from the staff. "Prince Keras probably knows that the turtle shell is weak against Green type attacks," Xavier continued to explain. "Why are the colors so important?" Nico noticed that different colors work better on certain beasts. "Scholars aren''t exactly sure, but depending on the color, skills may reflect, penetrate, absorb or even enhance certain spells and barriers," said Xavier. Nico knew of the most basic color sequences, black> red> orange> yellow> green> blue> purple> white> black. Black could beat out red, but white could beat out black. The cycle was the most well known, but there were also exceptions and unique colors like crimson and cyan. Prince Keras''s attack clashed into Baron Randall''s shield. Everything had a weakness, and Prince Keras knew of his opponent''s weakness. Prince Keras continued to attack. Baron Randall backed away quickly, sensing his Body Aura was collapsing. His magic recharged, and he cast three giant spikes toward the prince. Prince Keras dodged each of the spikes, closed in on Baron Randall and attacked. At that point, no one was surprised. Prince Keras was trained by all the knights, so his physical combat was naturally stronger than most magician. Prince Keras''s Sunray Staff had rays with narrow blades that could pierce and slash. Slash! Slash! Baron Randall cast a barrier to block. The Sunray Staff physical attacks were very weak, but it was enough for Prince Keras to distract Baron Randall and he cast a green lightning bolt to attack from behind. Zap! Zing! After several bouts, Baron Randall''s barrier indicator cuff turned white. "That was a good fight," Baron Randall remarked. Prince Keras nodded. It took him longer to take out Baron Randall than he had expected. Obi watched as Prince Keras to the side. "Prince Keras?" "He doesn''t care about the combat team, he''s just playing around," Prince Keras glanced at Baron Randall. The next round between Juliana and Corribal was barely a match. Juliana quickly shot out several arrows. After the 4th hit, Corribal''s body aura was down. "The goddess is amazing!" The students all gushed over the new student. "She''s amazing!" The students were amazed. "This match ended so quickly!" Corribal''s friends patted him on the back. It wasn''t that he was weak, it was that Juliana had strong magical arrows. The instructor called Marcus and Jack to the stage. Jack slowly walked up the steps and onto the main courtyard. He prepared his Bowie knife and although he tried to hide it, he looked unsure of himself. "It feels odd to see Jack looking all nervous," Ashe said. Anya didn''t want to comment, she was feeling nervous herself. After the signal to start, Marcus and Jack both cautiously evaluated the opponent. Neither wanted to make the first strike. After another moment, they both charged in to attack. Jack held his ground, but he was mainly in defensive position. His blade deflected the quick slashes of Marcus''s daggers. "The kid isn''t bad, but he is completely out of his league," the students watched as Jack flipped and dodged Marcus attacks. Marcus flung two hidden knives toward Jack. Jack evaded one, but the second broke a bit of his force barrier. Jack force barrier wasn''t strong, so he knew evading was the only way he could survive the match. Marcus continued his strategy of dodging and attacking. Jack did the same. Although they both had very similar style, Marcus was more experienced. Marcus movement changed. It became difficult to see where he was attacking from. "Is that the Shadow Walker skill?" asked Nico. Xavier nodded. "Yeah, it looks like he disappears, doesn''t it?" asked Xavier. Marcus movement skill was a mixture of footwork and shadow illusion. It was difficult to trace his exact location, but if a person maintain focus, it was possible to pinpoint him. Unfortunately, Jack was too inexperienced. Marcus won in the end. Jack stepped down from the courtyard, looking a bit dispirited. "You lasted longer than I thought," Ashe attempted to cheer him up. "You have improved a lot!" Nico chimed in. They had been training together, so he knew how much Jack was improving. Vincent patted Jack in the back. The instructor called the next competitors, Norick and Tokon. Nico watched as Norick easily won the match against Tokon. "I didn''t expect him to be so strong," Nico remarked. "Norick is the strongest pure tanker," said Ashe. "His attacks are easily evaded, but his counter attacks are deadly and nearly impossible to evade. The worst thing about him is his patience." "For a tanker, he''s unusual though," Xavier added. "Tanker works well as the core of the team and with a partner. Norick always prefer to be alone." Ashe took the stage as the instructor announced the next match, between him and Princess Toria Gordon. Goodbye "What took you so long? Did you take a dump?" Asked Jack. "You missed most of Vincent match." "I saw the ending," Nico replied. "Did I miss anything else?" Jack thought for a moment, then laughed. "Oh yeah, one of the instructors wet himself in the middle of the match and then ran off!" Nico chuckled. A couple of matches followed. There were fewer people watching from the side as the more interesting matches had happened earlier. Anya was relieved because she was last. In the late evening, the instructor called Nico and Sir Fredrick up the platform. Many people were not interested in the match-up. Sir Fredrick, although a strong fighter and a nobleman, was not the strongest amongst the condensation stage students. Nico was not well-known at all to many people. Nico prepared a spear in hand, standing in a mid-guard position. Sir Fredrick also selected a spear. The instructor gave the signal. Nico attacked Sir Fredrick from the top. Watching Nico first attack, Sir Fredrick blocked and attempted to counter from the right. Nico grabbed the spear and pulled forward. Sir Fredrick tripped, but thrust his spear into the ground to stabilize his body. Nico powered through Sir Fredrick with his elbow and his body, using Chaotic Devil Cultivation enhanced strength to its fullest. "Damn you pest!" Sir Fredrick pulled away. Nico followed Sir Fredrick like a shadow and continued pounding out his attacks. Nico felt good that he didn''t have to think too much for this match and simply let himself mindlessly charge and attack. Nico took a few hits, but he remained unfazed. "Nico is pretty reckless today," Xavier commented. "He''s enjoying the fight," said Vincent. "He''s also sleep deprived," said Ashe. Nico thrust drilled several times into Sir Fredrick''s force barrier to end the match. "Winner of the match, Nico," the instructor declared. Anya and Sir Lougram Mayley was the last match of the day and started late at around 8:00pm. Most of the spectators had retired. The roommates stayed to cheer her on. "You can do it Anya!" Nico then hollered loudly. "Good luck Anya," Ashe stated. Vincent have her a thumbs up and Jack shrugged. The match began, but Sir Lougram were a lot quicker than Anya. His water burst messed up a lot of Anya''s timing. "Although water and wind skills are weaker than fire and earth type attacks, they are faster to cast," said Xavier. Jack nodded, but Nico was fixed in a trance. Anya her own waterblast toward Sir Lougram. Sir Lougram dodged right. His staff unleashed Windblade, blowing Anya back. She took several steps back before regaining for balance. He quickly thrust his staff. Anya held on and prolonged the fight. She cast Scramble, and rushed toward Lougram. However, her spell didn''t last long enough for her to close in on Sir Lougram. She slashed several times into Sir Lougram''s body aura, but he evaded back to his comfortable distance. Sir Lougram cast several windblades. Anya attempted to dodge, but one of the windblades shot her barrier. After a few more bouts, Anya lost the match. "Don''t worry about it Anya, I''ll pick you as my partner tomorrow," Ashe was sure Nico or Vincent would pick Jack. Nico didn''t know if Vincent was close to anyone else besides the roommates. "Vincent, who are you picking for your partner tomorrow?" Nico asked.. Vincent thought for a moment. "Obi?" "Okay, I''ll take Jack for tomorrow then." Professor Quin and the other assistants gathered information for tomorrow''s partner match. "You did well today," Professor Quin commented as he approached Nico. "Have you decided on your partner for the match tomorrow?" "Can I have Jack for my partner?" asked Nico. "Unfortunately, Jack is being partnered with Marcus." "What!?" Nico didn''t expect that. The order of the selection was based on the match-up, and Nico was close to the end. "Who else is left then?" Professor Quin showed him a list of five people. "Can I back out of the tryout?" asked Nico. Professor Quin was slightly surprised. "Are you not aware of the prizes and opportunities from being in the combat team tournament?" Nico had heard about it numerous times from Ashe. Aside from the prizes, being in the combat team meant catching the attention of powerful groups and an opportunity to be recruited by the associations and guilds. However, attention was the last thing Nico wanted at the moment. He wanted to focus on learning more about this world and completing the system task. There were still a lot of things he needed to learn before sticking his neck out. "Professor Quin, you have no idea how tiring it is to be a student," Nico said while yawning. "I''ve been reading and studying all day and haven''t slept yet. If I join the combat team, doesn''t it mean I have to practice and prepare for the tournament? I would rather sleep than try to impress a bunch of old fogeys." In addition, Nico had enough old fogeys to teach him various things. Professor Quin didn''t know how to respond, but he understood that students all have different priorities. Nico returned home and passed out on his bed. In the meanwhile, Baron Randall looked at a man kneeling before him. "My lord," a short haired man trembled before Baron Randall. He was a new instructor of the Academy and had been assigned by Baron Randall to watch the combat team tryout.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Baron Randall looked coolly at the man. "It was quite a simple task. All you had to do was cast an enhancement spell on Vincent''s weapon." "I don''t know why, but my pants got wet for no reason." Baron Randall eyes narrowed it. "None of the professors were near you, how could that happen?" "I''m not sure, but it could be a student." "If it''s a student, then this could be potentially dangerous. Remove yourself from the Academy and return to Pasadine. Don''t show your face in front of me again." "Yes my Lord!" The instructor left. Luckily, they were in the Windel Academy. If this had happened in Pasadine, his life would have been on the chopping block. **** "I''m surprised you picked me as your partner," Obi prepared his hammer for the first round match. Vincent nodded and selected a quarterstaff. There were eight matches for day two. Nico was the only winner that backed out and Baron Randall turned down the selection for the partner round. Professor Clemson placed two alternates to complete the match-ups. Vincent & Obi vs Hobin & Corribal Prince Keras Kelsera & Mariot & Hilber Juliana & Princess Toria Gordon vs Tulan & Ian Marcus & Jack vs Norick & Tokon Ashe & Anya vs Tokon vs Larabee .... .... .... Hobin and Corribal also prepared their weapons on the other side of the court. "I can''t believe Professor Clemson placed this match-up first," said Xavier from the side. "Everyone will likely leave after this match. The selection is pretty much set at this point." Vincent and Obi stood side by side, and so was Hobin and Corribal. Vincent faced Hobin while Obi faced Corribal. The instructor signaled the start of the match. With Vincent ability, they were able to knock out Corribal. Hobin took out Obi, but Vincent was a dangerous person to attack head to head. No one could predict the outcome of Hobin and Vincent''s match-up. Although one hit from Vincent may easily injured many people, the same could be said of Hobin. Hobin dodged out of the way and countered. Vincent backed away. Although Vincent force barrier could handle Ian''s attack, it would break if he received an attack from Hobin head on. The match was a dodging match, the first person to get hit loses. They fought several bouts. "This is nerve-wrecking!" Xavier scribbled every details into his journal without looking away from the match. As soon as Hobin attacked, Vincent would dodge out of the way. "They are going to lose stamina soon," said Ashe. "That''s going bad if Vincent can''t get a hit in." In the end, Hobin higher cultivation and ability outlasted Vincent. As predicted the following fights were predictable. Professor Clemson already had a list in mind, so he released a list shortly after the tryout. Combat Team List: Hobin Prince Keras Juliana Vincent Ian Marcus Ashe Princess Toria Norick Obi Tokon Corribal **** "Russo!" The project manager bellowed out from across the room. A young man stopped typing his analysis of a new proposed development. He was irked by the interruption, but maintained a cordial facade as he raised his neck to look at the manager. "I have something important I need to take care of, I''ll leave the report to you." The project manager got up and left, leaving four other workers in the office. "What an ass!" The other workers complained. The project manager always left early, leaving them to do most of the work. Russo refocused on his work. After ten minutes of typing, his cell phone rang. "Hello?" A woman on the line rambled on about something. Russo got up from his desk and walked out of the office. Russo waited for her to finish before responding. "Hi Ma, I''m doing well.... Work? It''s fine, I''ve just started here so everyone here is nice...." Except for that jackass. Russo aimlessly stared at the office across the hallway, a private office that belonged to the Antonio''s Restaurant on the first floor. "Uh-huh. Maybe... Ma, I''m fine, you don''t have to worry.... No, I didn''t take this job because of Nico.... All right, I''ll try. Love you ma." Russo hung up and returned to his work. By the time it was 5:30, he exited down the stairs and into the streets. There was a short line of people waiting in queue for Antonio''s. Russo walked across the street to the bus stop. He sat down and waited, occasionally looking back at the restaurant. Russo looked at his watch, 6:00 PM. "Why isn''t it here?" Russo stood up and looked down the streets. Cars and more cars, but no bus. He waited another ten minutes. Finally, his patience wore thin and he hollered down a taxi. The taxi pulled over and stopped in front of him. He opened the door and got inside. Another person rushed in from the other side and took the seat. "Miss, I called down this taxi first," Russo commented. The young woman looked at Russo in amazement. It wasn''t just because he had a striking appearance, but he looked awfully familiar for some reason. A celebrity? She suddenly snapped back. Think, Grandmother first! "Please let me take the seat with you!" She pleaded. "My grandmother is sick and I need to see her in the hospital." The young miss looked out of place in the city. Her hair was a complete mess, she hadn''t showered since she got off the plane and eyes were baggy from all the stress. The first taxi driver had scammed her by driving the opposite direction and she had been roaming around looking for directions to the hospital. She finally spotted a taxi and dashed toward it as soon as possible. Russo reluctantly nodded and they both shared the cab. "Thank you!" She continued to fidget as the taxi drove to the hospital first. Russo noticed that the girl looked a bit tensed. "Is it your first time in the city?" She nodded. "Is your grandmother okay?" "I''m not sure." She impatiently looked at the road up ahead. "Hey!" Russo shouted. She snapped her head to look at him, but his face was distorted like some sort of clown. She wondered if he was trying to be funny. "It works on my nephews." She smiled. "Thank you." Eventually, they reached the hospital. She paid her portion of the tab to the driver and got out of the car. "Thank you again!" She politely bowed. Before she closed the door, her eyes widened. "Ah, you''re Gabe Russo!" "I''m sorry, I think you got me confused with someone else. Take care." **** A few nights before summer vacation, Nico took out a new crystal sound pendant from his pocket. Nico had spent many weeks experimenting with the inscription on the crystals. He had been rearranging the route within the crystal, but still no changes. It actually caused the crystal to stop working a couple of times. He had broken three crystals already. Nico rearranged the manaline of the crystal''s internal structure, his Saturn ring. The receiver crystal reacted to the change from Nico''s aura. The crystal died. Nico rearranged the manalines to the original location. He felt like a surgeon reconnecting the blood vessels back to its original location. The sound crystal restored its original function. Nico followed the enhancement instruction again. Maybe he was misinterpreting the directions. First he had to line the main branch and then the secondary branch, switch the lines. He tinkered with the crystal again. "What the f*** why isn''t this thing working!?" A voice cried out from the crystal. "Eek!" Nico backed away from the crystal, it wasn''t his voice. "What the!?" "Ah! A voice. Hey you! You there! Can you hear me!?" The man voice cried out again from the crystal. "Hold on right there! Don''t you dare move! Who are you? Where are you?" "Uh? You''re human?" Nico asked. "Of course, I''m human! I am the great Nil Eda! Now answer my question!" The voice erratically demanded. Nico grinned with skepticism toward the crystal, but the name sounded familiar. "How do I know if you''re not some evil devil trying to steal my soul?" "What the f***! Why would I want to steal your soul?" Cried the voice. "You''re from Kelsera? How do you not know who I am!?" Nico remembered the inventor''s name was Nil Eda, but he wasn''t sure of this person''s identity. "You can quit yelling, I can still hear you." "Yeah, but for how long? Do you know how long I''ve been working on this communication device? 3 years! Do you know how long that is? This thing could die any moment!" Communication device? Nico narrowed his eyes in curiously. Like a telephone? Nico examined the manalines, and recorded the pathway. The lines were very stable. "It should be fine. So this sound crystal is also one of your invention?" "Of course! I am genius after all. Anyway, tell me what you did to make your crystal receive my voice?" "What do I get in return?" "If you help me out, I''ll give you a 20% split." "50%." "What!? No way, I''m the one making this thing work." "No deal then. You can work on it for another 3 years if you want." "30%! How are you going to help me out anyway? I''m the one with all the knowledge here." "How do you know I don''t have the knowledge? Maybe I''m more knowledgeable than you and you''re the one that ends up stealing my ideas? Now that I think of it, if I can create a receiving crystal, I can probably work out a transmitter myself." "What!? No, wait! 50% is fine, but you also have to continue helping me with my research." "Deal. You can call me Salo, I''m in Launtel City." Nico didn''t trust the voice completely, and although he didn''t want to reveal too much information about what he knew, he was sure the voice knew a lot more about the inscription than he did. "Launtel City? You''re quite far away. Okay, if this crystal stop working, send me a message through the merchant guild." "Okay," Nico nodded out of habit. "Where are you located?" "You really don''t know me?" The voice sounded surprised. "I''m in Gordon City." "Huh?" Nico had heard it before, it was the Ashe homeland. "What sort of country hick are you that you don''t even know who I am!?" Nico wondered if there was a way to shut it off. Nico altered one of the lines and the communication stopped. No voices could be heard anymore. Thank god, the voice was irritating him. If he had to listen constantly to it, he would be annoyed. The crystal started to blink. Nico thought for a moment, and reactivated the crystal. "What the f*** is wrong with you! You''re not going to say goodbye. That''s beyond rude and shows no etiquette." Nico rolled his eyes. "I didn''t know, it''s not like I''ve ever use this thing before. Goodbye!"